Kosovo leaders have called on the EU and NATO to condemn the Serbian president’s statement suggesting a possible armed conflict between the two countries if no solution to their dispute is found soon.
Speaking to journalists on Thursday, President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia suggested that a longer frozen conflict between the two countries could lead to an armed conflict like the one between Armenia and Azerbaijan, local media B92 and RFE reported.
“The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has shown how a frozen conflict can turn into a catastrophe. We must learn lessons from what happened in the 1990s, but also from what has happened now. We should not leave the frozen conflict to our children. The most important message for us is the message of peace and the desire to continue the dialogue with Pristina, and to understand that the best solution is the solution that we can and must achieve through dialogue. And it is better to achieve it sooner than later, because otherwise some kind of conflict can happen between us”, Vučić said.
Kosovo’s Acting President Vjosa Osmani called on the EU and NATO to respond to Serbia’s “war threat”.
I expect the European Union & NATO to respond to this threat for a violent war, made by Vucic. https://t.co/Pcalosdf9x
— Vjosa Osmani (@VjosaOsmaniMP) November 12, 2020
In a press statement, Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti also urged the EU and NATO to “react against these provocations”. He said that these statements do not help the dialogue towards a deal for mutual recognition, and are in contradiction to Serbia’s pledges for regional peace and economic cooperation.
Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj said that “Kosovo is neither Nagorno-Karabakh, nor a frozen conflict”. She accused Vučić of making intentional comparisons” that show “his objective to create tension and destabilize the Balkan region.”
Serbia has boosted its military equipment in recent years, with supplies from Russia and China, including jets, tanks, missile defense, drones and other equipment. Russia will also open a defense ministry office in Belgrade.
US Congressman Eliot Engel has called on the US administration to impose sanctions on Serbia for purchasing Russian arms.
The Albanian government has not commented on Vučić’s statement.
Read more: Serbia’s Increasing Closeness to Russia Strains Its EU Ambitions
