Serbs Call on Russia to Help in Kosovo Crisis
As violence against the NATO-led Kosovo peacekeeping mission moved to a new climax today, Serbian caretaker PM Vojislav Kostunica seems to be ever more willing to play the Russian card.
In what seems to be a desperate attempt at sparking instability in the wake of Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence from Belgrade, Kostunica’s most recent rhetoric points to a grim scenario of Russia facing down NATO in Serbia’s defense.
Such a standoff would be disastrous for both sides.
Reuters highlights Kostunica’s comments…
“We have started the necessary consultations with Russia about a necessary joint reaction in order to stop all forms of violence against Serbs,” his statement added.
It raised the prospect of Serbia inviting Russian troops into Serb-dominated northern Kosovo as peackeepers, undermining the authority of the NATO-led KFOR peacekeeping mission, creating potential for conflict, or heralding a partition of the territory.
Russia, which has repeatedly condemned Kosovo’s independence as illegal and blocked it at the United Nations, has warned the Western backers of Kosovo’s 90 percent Albanian majority that they are playing with fire.
Moscow has said it will not stand idly by and watch Kosovo Serbs oppressed.
When Opportunity Knocks, Russia Moves into Action
Throughout the Putin era, where Russia smelled an opportunity, it has taken advantage of it. Serbia is just the latest in a string of international movements lead by the West, namely the United States, which has resulted in increased rhetoric and aggressive action by the Kremlin.
Check out an excerpt of this Time Magazine article by Yuri Zarakhovich…
By splitting the West and the wider international community, the U.S.-backed declaration of independence by Kosovo has given Russia an opening. Countries concerned with separatist problems of their own, from Spain or Cyprus to China, have been unable to follow the U.S. lead in recognizing Kosovo’s breakaway from Serbia. And Russia has sought to exploit the gaps that have emerged as a result.
In Serbia, itself, Russia capitalized literally, on the standoff over Kosovo. In Belgrade, just a week before he became Russia’s President-elect, Dmitri Medvedev supervised Serbia’s signing up to a prospective Russian Southern Stream natural gas pipe-line. Serbia also sold to Russia a 51% stake of Naftna Industrija Srbija (NIS), a much prized national oil company for $614 million and the promise of a further investment of $770 million. Russia plans build a major gas storage facility in Serbia, making the country a key base for Russian energy supplies to Europe. This consolidation of ties with Serbia achieves two Russian strategic goals: taking over national energy assets of European countries; and keeping erstwhile allies of the Soviet Union from being drawn into the Western fold. To emphasize warming ties, travel between Russia and Serbia will no longer require visas.
Tags: balkans, EU, Europhile, Euroskeptic, kosovo, Kostunica, Kremlin, NATO, Neo-Cold War, Russia, Russophile, serbia
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