Kosovo’s leader says Russia prevailing in Ukraine would threaten 25 years of peace in the Balkans

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Kosovo’s prime minister said Thursday that the Balkan region has enjoyed the greatest degree of peace, freedom and democracy over the past 25 years but that this could be reversed if Russia prevails in Ukraine and encourages Serbian expansion.

Albin Kurti, who has served as Kosovo’s leader since 2021, said it was important for the West to stand united in support of Ukraine as it defends itself against Russian aggression.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Kurti argued that a stronger Russia would embolden Serbia — and that not only Kosovo but also Bosnia, Montenegro and “perhaps North Macedonia” would be endangered by what he described as Serbian expansionist ambitions.

The relationship between Kosovo and Serbia remains tense and the 13-year-long normalization talks facilitated by the European Union have failed to make progress, especially following a shootout in September last year between masked Serb gunmen and Kosovo police that left four people dead.

NATO-led peacekeepers have also increased their numbers along the Kosovo-Serbia border.

“These 25 years in this century, this has been a quarter of a century with the highest degree of peace, freedom and democracy in the Balkans,” Kurti said.

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He spoke at Kosovo’s diplomatic mission in Warsaw, the Polish capital. The mission was opened after Poland and Kosovo established consular relations in 2022.

Asked what it would mean for Kosovo and the Balkans more broadly if Russia were to prevail in Ukraine, Kurti, said “with Serbia being a regional hegemon and Russian proxy, these 25 years of peace, freedom and democracy in the Balkans, unprecedented in our history, are at risk again.”

Serbian attempts to maintain dominance as the former Yugoslavia split up in the 1990s unleashed the most devastating wars in Europe since World War II — at least until Russia’s Feb. 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Kosovo was a Serbian province until NATO’s 78-day bombing campaign in 1999 ended a war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo, which left about 13,000 dead, mainly ethnic Albanians, and pushed Serbian forces out.

Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s independence and thousands of international peacekeepers are still in Kosovo to maintain peace with Serbia, which Kosovo seceded from in 2008.

“Despotic President Putin would be encouraged to proceed further with his destabilization attempts, even more so if he feels successful in Ukraine,” Kurti said. “I really don’t want to believe that he can theoretically win. But him thinking that (he) can win is problematic enough.”

Kurti visited Poland as the central European nation prepares to take over the rotating presidency of the 27-member European Union next January. One of his goals is for Kosovo to join the EU, but five of the EU’s members still do not even recognize Kosovo — Spain, Greece, Cyprus Romania and Slovakia.

Kurti noted that Spain began earlier this year to recognize Kosovo passports for those visiting.

“So there are these small steps,” he said. “But you know, these small steps do not make one big necessary step, which is recognition.”

Kosovo, where 90% of the 1.6 million population is Albanian, is holding parliamentary elections next February, a vote that is expected to be a test for Kurti, whose governing party won in a landslide in the 2021.