While Kosovo's President, Vjosa Osmani, says she has "credible information" that US President, Donald Trump, "has recently prevented" a possible escalation of the security situation from Serbia to Kosovo, the acting Government of Kosovo is not commenting.
The Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs did not respond to Radio Free Europe's questions about what kind of escalation of the situation was in question, what specific security risk existed, and when.
Belgrade, on the other hand, says President Osmani is falsely accusing Serbia.
US President Donald Trump's recent claims that he has prevented a conflict between Kosovo and Serbia have attracted attention, but have also created confusion, as public opinion is lacking details - such as the time period in which such an escalation could have occurred.
Speaking on July 10 at a lecture in Washington, President Osmani said that this statement by President Trump clearly refers to "recent weeks" and that it concerns "very, very recent developments."
Jeta Loshaj, a researcher at the Kosovo Center for Security Studies, believes that there is a real threat from Serbia, especially in the form of special operations and hybrid security threats.
She tells Radio Free Europe that President Osmani's latest statement regarding a possible attack from Serbia only confirms earlier concerns that have existed - mainly within expert circles - based on the rhetoric of Serbian officials, including the President of Serbia himself, Aleksandar Vučić.
However, for Loshajn it is "surprising" that the American president speaks openly about preventing Serbia's plans to attack Kosovo - an action that in practice would translate into an attack on NATO - while the military alliance has not come up with any official reaction.
Dusan Janjic, from the Forum for Ethnic Relations in Belgrade, says that the Kosovo president's statement that there has been a security threat from Serbia in recent weeks is "frivolous."
He believes that Trump's statement on this issue was referring to the Washington Agreement between Kosovo and Serbia on the normalization of economic relations, reached in 2020, during his first presidential term.
What did Trump say?
US President Donald Trump wrote on the Social Truth network on June 15 that during his first presidential term, Kosovo and Serbia were "heading towards a serious conflict" and that war was on the verge of breaking out, but that he stopped it.
He accused his then-successor, former President Joe Biden, of "damaging the long-term perspective with some very senseless decisions," but that he would "fix it again."
"During my first term, Serbia and Kosovo were fighting fiercely, as they had for decades, and this long-running conflict threatened to escalate into war. I stopped it," Trump wrote.
Then, at a White House press conference on June 29, he said that, in recent months, the US has stopped or prevented conflicts between several parties, including Serbia and Kosovo.
"Serbia, you know, was preparing for war, with a group that I won't even mention, because it didn't happen. We managed to prevent it, but I have a friend in Serbia who said they're going to go to war again. I'm not going to say it's Kosovo, but it's Kosovo. They were preparing for a serious war, we prevented it. We prevented it for trade. They wanted to trade with the United States. I said: we don't trade with those who fight," Trump said.
Then, on July 9, he reiterated that he had stopped the war in the region, threatening to suspend trade.
"I've managed to resolve a lot of situations, like the one with India and Pakistan, Kosovo and Serbia. I said: are you going to fight? We're not going to trade. And it seems that's been quite successful," Trump said.
These statements come at a time when tensions between Kosovo and Serbia remain high, especially in northern Kosovo, where the majority of the population is Serb.
The escalation of the situation in northern Kosovo culminated in September 2023 when an armed group of Serbs, led by Milan Radoićić - former vice-president of the Serbian List - attacked the Kosovo Police in the village of Banjska and killed a police sergeant.
Kosovo described the attack as terrorist and accused Serbia of being behind it - something official Belgrade denied.
Osmani mentioned this attack in Washington, saying that such events confirm that there is a real risk of similar incidents in the future, therefore, she said, it is important to have not only military, but also political deterrence of Serbia from such plans.
Loshaj: Conflicts cannot be completely ruled out
Loshaj states that the research of the Kosovo Center for Security Studies - such as that on the increase of special operations forces in Serbia and the way Kosovo is treated in Serbian security doctrine - points to serious concerns regarding Kosovo's security, but emphasizes that, however, there are also some limitations.
“When assessing Serbia’s current readiness to launch a larger, conventional attack on Kosovo, limitations must also be taken into account. As long as Kosovo is under NATO protection, which has a mandate for the KFOR mission from the United Nations, any move towards a conventional attack would carry a high risk for Serbia. Despite this, the US National Security Council issued a warning in September 2023 about a buildup of Serbian military forces on the border with Kosovo, reminding us that such scenarios cannot be completely ruled out,” says Loshaj.
Ajo thekson, gjithashtu, se paqja në rajonin e Ballkanit Perëndimor është e brishtë dhe se kërkon vigjilencë dhe angazhim të vazhdueshëm nga NATO-ja dhe SHBA-ja.
Janjiq: Forcat serbe të sigurisë nuk merren me Kosovën prej muajsh
Janjiq thotë se publiku nuk është në dijeni të një tentative të re sulmi, të organizuar ndaj Kosovës, dhe se presidenti i SHBA-së, Trump, nuk kishte asgjë për të parandaluar.
“Qartazi, Vjosa Osmani nuk ndjek me vëmendje atë që po ndodh në Serbi. Këtu, me muaj, ushtria, forcat paraushtarake dhe madje edhe policia merren me gjëra të tjera, e jo me Kosovën. Kështu që kjo është një politikë joserioze, një përpjekje për t’i bërë përshtypje Trumpit dhe ambicies së tij për Çmimin Nobel për Paqe, por kjo nuk përputhet me faktet”, thotë Janjiq.
Qysh në nëntor të vitit të kaluar, në Serbi janë duke u organizuar protesta, që kërkojnë llogari për shembjen e një strehe në Stacionin Hekurudhor të Novi Sadit, ku mbetën të vrarë 16 persona.
Në fillim të korrikut, në rrjetet sociale u shfaqën disa fotografi me përshkrimin se anëtarët e grupit të armatosur nga Banjska, gjenden pranë Presidencës së Serbisë për të mbrojtur një grup studentësh që i kundërshton protestat, e që mbështeten edhe nga presidenti Aleksandar Vuçiq.
Duke përdorur mjetet e njohjes së fytyrës, Radio Evropa e Lirë arriti të përcaktonte se grupi përfshinte Vlladimir Vuçetiqin, nga Mitrovica e Veriut, i cili është një nga 45 personat e akuzuar për kryerjen e sulmit në Banjskë.
Reagimet nga Beogradi
Radio Evropa e Lirë kërkoi nga Presidenca e Serbisë të komentonte deklaratat e presidentes së Kosovës, në lidhje me planet e Beogradit për të sulmuar Kosovën gjatë disa javëve të fundit, por, deri në publikimin e këtij artikulli, nuk mori përgjigje.
Drejtori i Zyrës për Kosovën në Qeverinë e Serbisë, Petar Petkoviq, tha përmes një deklarate se Osmanit “i janë errësuar sytë”, për shkak të krizës së brendshme politike dhe pamundësisë për të formuar institucionet e reja pas zgjedhjeve të shkurtit.
Sipas tij, Osmani e akuzoi rrejshëm Beogradin për “planet e veta të dhunshme” dhe politikanët nga Prishtina “gënjejnë hapur”.
“Ne po e ruajmë paqen e brishtë në veri të Kosovës dhe Metohisë vetëm falë politikës së mençur dhe të matur të presidentit Vuçiq dhe përgjegjësisë së treguar nga populli serb në Kosovë dhe Metohi”, thuhet në deklaratën e tij. REL (A2 Televizion)
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MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
