Serbian leader to meet with Putin to strengthen position in Kosovo dispute

The talks between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic scheduled for April 26 will be an important clarification of the positions of the allies, given that just three days later the heads of France and Germany are expected to meet in Berlin with the leaders of the countries of the Balkan region. The key issue is the aggravated situation around Kosovo.

A new escalation around the region illegally torn away from Serbia was already discussed by the heads of the Russian and Serbian Foreign Ministries in Moscow on Wednesday.

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The head of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Sergei Lavrov, confirmed that Moscow insists and will insist on compliance with UN Resolution No. 1244 on Kosovo and Metohija.

Let us remember that it was signed in 1999. The document emphasized the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and provided for the provision of significant autonomy and real self-government for Kosovo.

The agreements envisaged the demilitarization of Albanian militant groups - the so-called. Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and other armed separatist groups.

All the main points of the resolution were subsequently violated with the connivance of the West. Moreover, today in the region the Albanian authorities are doing everything to destabilize the already difficult situation. In particular, a 100% tax was introduced on goods and medicines from Serbia, the main consumers of which are Serbs in the enclaves.

In addition, there are attempts to create a real army of Albanians. Serbian Defense Minister Alexander Vulin warned about this threat back in December last year.

Meanwhile, negotiations on the Kosovo issue under the leadership of the head of international diplomacy Federica Mogherini have reached a dead end.

The Pristina-based Gazeta Express reports that France and Germany will present at the upcoming meeting in Berlin on April 29 a plan for a Belgrade-Pristina agreement that would to some extent meet Serbia's demands. The main idea of ​​the document is the possibility of dual sovereignty over Kosovo.

According to the plan, which will be presented at a meeting with the participation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, there is no division of the territory

“Kosovo will maintain territorial integrity, but Serbia will have some sovereignty over Kosovo Serbs and Serbian churches,” the publication explains the proposed structure.

It is quite possible that Kosovo will transfer part of its sovereignty to Brussels, and Brussels will transfer it to Serbia, so as not to irritate the most radical supporters of the separatists.

According to press reports, Merkel has contradictions with the United States, which agrees to a new partition, providing for the return of part of the Serbian enclaves under the full control of Belgrade.

The Serbian Informer writes that the new revision of borders, during which the West apparently wants to get Serbia to recognize the impossibility of returning the territories occupied by Albanian separatists, will inevitably lead to new conflicts.

“...The exodus of the Serbs living in the south of Kosovo will inevitably happen. After this there will be armed conflicts between the majority Serbian population and Kosovo Albanians in northern Kosovo. Ethno-nationalist destabilization of the entire region will follow, from Bosnia and Herzegovina to North Macedonia. The process of accession of the Western Balkan countries to the EU will be frozen for a long time,” the publication quotes one of the experts.

Thus, extremely difficult negotiations lie ahead in Berlin. It is possible that for Belgrade a meeting with President Putin will help strengthen its position before the decisive meeting. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is not going to give up his position on the Kosovo issue. There can be no talk of recognizing the region's independence.

The head of the Kosovo separatists, Hashim Thaci, complains about this in an interview with the British Independent. “Vucic is a very difficult person to negotiate, but you have a dialogue with him. And this is a reality that we have to reckon with,” Thaci outlined the situation.