Eurasia News

  A s the end of 2023 approaches, tensions in the relationship between Serbia and Kosovo are on the rise. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, coupled with the local elections in northern Kosovo's municipalities of Mitrovica, Leposavić, Zvečan, and Zubin Potok, which were boycotted by members of the majority Serbian community, have led to an upsurge in tensions and violence. In February 2023, envoys from France, Germany, the EU, the US, and Italy met with Serbian President  Aleksandar Vučić  (SNS) and Kosovar Prime Minister  Albin Kurti  (LVV) in an attempt to persuade them to sign a plan aimed at calming tensions and achieving full normalization of relations. The outcome was the unsigned Ohrid Agreement, outlining the parties' specific commitments for implementation. More recently, Azerbaijan initiated a military operation, successfully reclaiming the secessionist enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, an event that consequently reverberates in its implications for the situation in Kosovo.

  N umerous multilateral meetings have convened to discuss the Kosovo situation. Recently, the European Political Community Summit took place in Granada. Kosovo was in focus, albeit only declaratively, as no substantive steps were taken to overcome the existing crisis and reduce tensions. The forthcoming Berlin Process Summit in Tirana is unlikely to yield a solution for Kosovo, as Germany is primarily part of the problem in Kosovo, rather than a part of the solution. The crisis escalation in Kosovo culminated in an isolated armed incident in the town of  Banjska  on 24 September 2023, where a group of local Serbs clashed with the Kosovo police. What is presently known is that the former Vice President of the Serbian List,  Milan Radoičić , has acknowledged his presence in  Banjska  with a group of individuals. According to his statement, his intention was to encourage " the Serbian population in that region in offering resistance to the daily terror they are subjected to ”. The a