Trouble in Kosovo comes from Serbia

I did this interview for Spat Blakcori of Pristina’s TV1 yesterday:

Q: It has been more than 2 weeks since there are barricades in the North of Mitrovica. KFOR has yet to make a move and remove the barricades. Do you think they should act immediately?

A: They should not have allowed the barricades, but now that they are there they need to proceed with caution.

Q: What do you think about the criminal groups in the North of Mitrovica. Should Vucic be responsible for their actions?

A: Yes, they are agents of the Serbian secret service for which he is responsible. None of this would be happening without Vucic’s approval. Brnabic’s tweets are confirmation of that.

Q: Do you think that the approach of the West is too soft towards the Serbian president?

A: Yes. I don’t understand why the West has failed to react appropriately to Vucic’s provocations, which are blatant and obvious. I fear there are those in both Washington and Brussels who sympathize with Belgrade’s effort to establish separate governance for Serbs in northern Kosovo.

I also did this one for Luli Gajtani of RTV Dukagjini:

Q: How do you see the situation created in the north of Kosovo, what do you think would be a long-term solution that would no longer produce tensions?

A: The long term solution will be mutual recognition and decentralized governance in Kosovo, which already exists.

Q: Should the forces of KFOR or the Police of Kosovo forcefully remove the barricades located in the northern municipalities of Kosovo, or do you see another solution?

A: They should not have allowed construction of the barricades, but now they need to be cautious in removing them. Negotiation from a position of strength would be my preference.

Q: Serbia has admitted that the barricades were placed with their permission, how do you think the international community should act?

A: There should be consequences. Brussels and Washington are better equipped than I am to figure out what those should be.

Q: Do you think that Miroslav Lajcak and Josep Borrell should intensify the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue? Do you think that the dialogue would speed up the solution of the problems in the north of Kosovo?

A: I doubt they can speed up the dialogue without levying consequences for Belgrade, which has intentionally destabilized northern Kosovo in order to block progress in the dialogue.