LOCAL PRESS 

Vucic: Important that Macron does not impose stance on Kosovo (Beta/Tanjug/RTS/RTV) 

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stated that it was important for Serbia that French President Emmanuel Macron had no wish to impose a stance on Kosovo, but showed interest in hearing the Serbian side. “That is usually not the case in many countries that have recognized the independence of Kosovo,” Vucic said at a news conference in the Palace of Serbia after the session of the Serbian government, which he attended. He stressed that the people should not be given false hope about Serbia’s position regarding Kosovo and pretend that things are lovely in Kosovo. “They are not and will not be. Those who say they would – are lying. We have to fight for the interests of the people and secure their safety,” Vucic stated.

I am tired of irresponsible policies in the Balkans  

Serbia and the survival of our people cannot be endangered, but I am tired of irresponsible policies in the Balkans, said Vucic when asked if it is possible to continue the dialogue in a situation when Pristina representatives advocate unification with Albania and demand deletion of the Community of Serb Municipalities (ZSO) from the Brussels agreement. “As far as dialogue is concerned, we are always ready to talk, but two are needed for dialogue,” Vucic pointed out. He added that he could most easily respond to them with the same measure, but he noted that he was tired of all our irresponsible policies in the Balkans. “Let them say what they want, some others will have to solve those problems with them, and it is not realistic for them to endanger the survival of our people or to seriously threaten Serbia,” the President said. Vucic ironically remarked that he would be hung on the flag in Brussels if he mentioned the unification of the Serb people, and conveyed that EU Ambassador to Serbia Sam Fabrizi had laughed at such a remark in a conversation with him today. “Irresponsibility is allowed for some, not for those who are serious. Serbia must not be irresponsible,” Vucic concluded.

Brnabic: Report on Saturday (Tanjug/RTS) 

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic told the press conference held after the government session that our country is achieving results unprecedented in its recent and distant history – it is the best in Europe in the field of the economy and the second in vaccination results. After the session which was also attended by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Brnabic said that she will present the report on the first 100 days of work of the government to the citizens on Saturday. She said that at today’s session, the President was asked to inform the members of the government about everything that happened regarding the continuation of the dialogue with Pristina, what he expects and how the government can help and support everything he does. According to her, Vucic informed the members of the government about his visit to France and the talks he had with the President of that country, Emmanuel Macron. We talked about all the foreign policy challenges that are ahead of us, as well as about an important topic, which is one of the priorities, and that is the fight against crime, as well as about all the actions of the police during the past night, she said. She pointed out that attention was paid to the position of Serbia, which is incredible in every sense. We are the best in Europe in terms of economy, and today we are the second, and according to some indicators, the first in terms of vaccination, and we talked about how to keep that position and continue to make progress, Brnabic said.

Dacic: Motive for Israel’s recognition of Kosovo Jerusalem as capital (TV Prva/Beta) 

Serbian parliament speaker Ivica Dacic said that Israel had agreed to recognize Kosovo as independent believing that opening the embassy of a Muslim country in Jerusalem would have a positive impact. “Clearly it was done with a helping hand from the US because Israel was in the position to assess what recognizing Kosovo would get. At this point in time, what was important to them was that a ‘Muslim country’ accept Jerusalem as the capital,” Dacic told TV Prva.

The former foreign minister explained that opening an embassy in Jerusalem, which is in opposition to a UN resolution and decisions of the Security Council because of the dispute with Palestine, required Israel recognizing Kosovo first.

Vulin: Asylum system of Serbia one of most organized in Europe (Tanjug/RTS) 

Serbian Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin visited, together with Director of Police Vladimir Rebic and Commissioner for Refugees and Migration Vladimir Cucic, the police officers who carried out an operation to find irregular migrants. On that occasion, Vulin emphasized that the asylum system of Serbia is one of the most organized in Europe, saying that the Ministry of the Interior cares about the safety of every person in the territory of our country and takes care of everything that could endanger the everyday life of all our citizens. Migrants must and should be in camps. We are humane and organized, but the law must be respected and our everyday life must never, in any way, be endangered, he pointed out. Vuilin warned that no one should take justice into their own hands and that, not respecting the law, they should try to remove, punish or direct migrants, because there are police and other institutions that are in charge of taking care of that. Our state works and will do its job. Serbia has shown that it is more organized, more humane, safer than many EU countries when it comes to the migrant crisis, said Vulin.

Ninety-seven irregular migrants from Belgrade were transferred to the reception center in Presevo, the Ministry of the Interior said in a statement, adding that this police action would be continued.

REGIONAL PRESS 

Dodik: Serb people do not receive ultimatums well; Inzko showed hatred towards Serb people, qualifying them as collectively responsible for war crimes (Hayat/RTRS)

Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) Presidency Milorad Dodik commented on High Representative Valentin Inzko’s deadline until the end of April set to the Republika Srpska (RS) to annul awards given to convicted war criminals by saying: “Serb people do not receive ultimatums well. He is focused only on one people. We shall see. We will discuss this topic but he has disqualified himself for all times in that regard. I am not a prophet to predict what Inzko could do during his departure.” Dodik added that the persecution of Serbs should stop, as Inzko has inflicted too much harm on them. Dodik said that with his request to the RS parliament, Inzko showed hatred towards the Serb people, qualifying them as collectively responsible for war crimes. “I think he showed the lowest passions and hatred towards one people, the Serb people, qualifying us as collectively responsible for crimes that are only in his head. This is part of the concept he developed when he claimed that the RS was created on the principles of the NDH (Independent State of Croatia). He could not send a worse insult to the Serbs,” Dodik underlined. Dodik said that Inzko did not demand renaming of schools or other public institutions in the Federation of B&H named after criminals from the WWII. “He (Inzko) earned serious money while being at that position, but he had a misfortune that the RS made a serious distance from international interventions. They know perfectly well that we will not accept any kind of imposing of decisions by them because they are focused on only one people,” Dodik said.

Inzko says he is not one who imposed collective responsibility on the RS, but the RS has imposed burden of guilt on Serb people (Nova BH)

High Representative Valentin Inzko commented on the letter he sent to the RS parliament and presidents of the RS parliament caucuses, in which he requested annulling of awards presented to convicted war criminals Radovan Karadzic, Momcilo Krajisnik and Biljana Plavsic. Inzko stated that he is not the one who imposed collective responsibility on the RS, but the RS has imposed the burden of guilt on the Serb people. Inzko said: “It was not me, but on 24 October 2016, the RS parliament imposed a heavy burden of guilt on the Serb people, when it decorated three people convicted of war crimes on behalf of the Serb people”.

B&H Presidency members and US Ambassador Nelson discuss current situation in B&H, EU path (N1)

US Ambassador to B&H Eric Nelson met on Thursday with three members of the B&H Presidency to discuss bilateral cooperation between the two countries, as well as B&H’s EU path and current political developments in the country. The Presidency members thanked the Ambassador for the US contribution in stabilizing the situation in B&H and for the support his country provided in the process of B&H’s European integration, according to the statement issued following the meeting. Speaking of the country’s European integration, the Presidency members expressed readiness towards the completion of 14 priorities outlined in the European Commission’s (EC) Opinion on B&H’s membership application. They also discussed the improvement of economic cooperation between B&H and the US, which is expected to be intensified through a memorandum of economic cooperation. Coronavirus pandemic and the migrant crisis were also discussed during the meeting. Nelson stressed the US will continue acting as B&H’s partner in implementing all necessary reforms towards better life standard for citizens.

Covic: Reaching agreement on Law on Elections requires participation of international representatives (Fena)

HDZ B&H leader Dragan Covic said in an interview for Fena  that a meeting with US Ambassador to B&H Eric Nelson on Wednesday evening was pleasant and constructive and that they talked about many issues and made an overview of what was done last year, with special focus on implementation of the local elections, work of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of B&H and the elections in Mostar. According to Covic, ‘we’ have a lot of objections to what happened in the elections in Mostar, “however we are going into implementation of the result and at the same time the institutions should do their job”. When it comes to the agenda for this year, Covic said this is not an election year and the Croat officials would like to implement the agreement signed with SDA, which deals with Mostar and the Law on Elections, by end of May or June the latest. “We agreed that adoption of the Law on Elections should be condition for our status of (EU) candidate, like other conditions we have got from the EU,” said Covic. HDZ B&H leader went on to say that “as far as we are concerned, the election of members of the Presidency of B&H and delegates to the House of Peoples is vital, and we insist that Croat representatives are elected by Croats and we are open to talks with all parliamentary parties about technical changes as well”. Covic further said he will submit to Ambassador Nelson and Ambassador Johann Sattler by end of Friday “our view of changes to the Law on Elections when it comes to the Presidency and Houses of Peoples”. In this context Covic said there should be a plan, what political parties have to do and what political parties have to do with representatives of the international institutions. “And told them this, it will be very difficult for us to make a big step forward without their presence,” stressed Covic.

Cavara: SDA’s plan is to remove Croats from all decision-making offices and create unitary Bosniak state (Oslobodjenje)

The daily carried an interview with Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FB&H) President Marinko Cavara. Asked to explain his recent claim that SDA’s goal is to remove Croats from the process of governing B&H after 2022, Cavara said that the will of Croat voters has been ignored repeatedly in the past years, starting with the formation of the coalition ‘Alliance for Changes’ in 2001. He underlined that Bosniaks have elected another Bosniak member of B&H Presidency to the office which belongs to the Croat member (referring to Zeljko Komsic) and that many Bosniaks declare their ethnicity as Croat only to be appointed to offices which belong to Croats. In this way, Croats are excluded from many decision-making offices in FB&H and B&H.  Cavara noted that SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic and other SDA officials openly say that they are preparing the same strategy for the 2022 general elections. According to Cavara, the ultimate goal of SDA is to use the civic concept to create a unitary Bosniak state. However, he underlined, HDZ B&H will not allow this, and it will find a way to protect the sovereignty of Croats, as well the Constitutions of the FB&H and B&H. Asked to comment the fact that the new FB&H government has not been formed yet, Cavara said that SDA is stalling the negotiations because it wants to keep the status quo until the 2022 elections. “SDA which is supposed to be a partner is systematically working on undermining that relationship, they are trying to throw HDZ B&H and Croats in general out of all places where decisions are made. Despite all these schemes, HDZ B&H will still advocate dialogue and agreement with all political partners, because we that is the only way to achieve progress”, said Cavara. He welcomed the appointment of a HDZ B&H member of the new Tuzla Canton Government as a sign of improving respect of the Constitution. Asked to comment the election in Mostar, Cavara said that numerous irregularities related to registration of voters and counting of ballots have seriously undermined the legitimacy of the election. He noted that HDZ B&H won majority of votes which is why HDZ B&H should nominate the new Mayor and expressed hope that an agreement will be reached soon. Asked to comment the speculations about appointment of a new High Representative, Cavara said that he expects the new High Representative to behave differently than Valentin Inzko whose work was detrimental to the Croat people. He welcomed Germany’s initiative to appoint the new High Representative and expressed hope that the new High Representative will facilitate dialogue among peoples in B&H and the process of B&H’s EU integration and work on conditions for closure of the OHR.

Prosecutor’s Office of B&H interviews Dodik regarding ‘Icon’ affair (FTV)

Chairman of the B&H Presidency Milorad Dodik was interviewed on Thursday by the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H within an investigation on ‘Icon’ case. The reporter noted that the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H failed to confirm whether Dodik was questioned as a witness or suspect. Several witnesses were interviewed within abovementioned case so far, including B&H Ambassador to Russia Zeljko Samardzija. After he was interviewed, Dodik went to Istocno Sarajevo where he met with heads of municipalities and Mayor of Istocno Sarajevo. He also addressed media in regards to his testimony before the Prosecutor’s Office of B&H. Dodik stated that he was interviewed as the witness. He explained that no criminal offense was mentioned, neither indictment. “I was surprised when I was summoned as the witness. I believed I should give a statement and you all know my stance about Prosecutor’s Office and it has not changed” stressed Dodik, adding that B&H judiciary is complete failure. He underlined that he believes that he should give the statement because of all attempts of manipulation. He added that he asked prosecutors to present him the Articles of the Criminal Code that are ground to interview him. “They asked me some bizarre things like who arranged Lavrov’s visit,” said Dodik. In the case ‘Ikona’, everything is clean, there is no crime, no indictment, and no reference to any article of the law, Dodik said after he was questioned. “Give me a deed, give me an article of the law, the criminal law by which you interrogate me here, why am I here, why are the people you invited here? If you call me for questioning, then it must be written which law article was violated, Milorad Dodik, or some other person, did this and that, and there is nothing anywhere,” Dodik told the reporters. “A completely fictional story, there is no element, the key proof of that is the claim of INTERPOL, departments in Sarajevo and Ukraine, that Ukraine is not looking for an icon” Dodik said.  Dodik stressed that this case is based on “a false report by B&H Foreign Affairs Minister Bisera Turkovic”. Dodik said he saw the icon for the first time on the day when he presented it as a gift to Lavrov. When asked by the media, where the icon is at this moment, Dodik did not wish to reveal that information.

Croatian MEP calls for faster integration of Western Balkans into EU (Hina)

The EU should speed up the integration of Western Balkan countries, for the sake of the stability and security of the bloc, Croatian MEP Zeljana Zovko (HDZ/EPP), wrote in an article published by the Brussels Morning website on Wednesday. She warns in her article that instability of the western Balkans, migrant crisis, extremism, terrorism and cross-border crime “have implications for security in Europe”. “Stability, security, peace and prosperity of the Western Balkans and the Eastern and Southern Neighborhood countries directly affect the Union’s own stability and security and that of its Member States, as well as its reputation as a geopolitical global actor. “Thus, the EU has a considerable interest in the stable Western Balkans since the destabilization in the region can result in that the zone of instability can spread to the EU,” the Croatian MEP underscores, adding that “Europe’s external and internal security is interrelated.” At the same time, the foreign and security strategy is consistent with the fifth priority of the EU’s strategic agenda: the EU as a strong global player. “It is necessary, therefore, that the EU speeds up the integration of these countries, if not, it may lead to the situation in which the continuing delays lead to withdrawal, national or religious hatred that breeds extremist intolerance at the heart of Europe, or even losing soft power in the region in favor of some other global actors, such as China and Russia.” “The EU needs to strengthen its credibility, which has been damaged in the region for years now. Furthermore, it is needed to create fertile ground for wider reforms and to promote more cross-border cooperation between competent institutions to combat common threats,” Zovko wrote in her commentary piece. She added that “the Western Balkan countries are historically and culturally part of Europe.” “And, the integration of these countries into the EU is of key importance for the stability and security of the continent as a whole, as well as for the EU’s influence in the region and beyond, and this cannot be stressed enough,” Zovko said. “A strong signal is important for countries like Bosnia and Herzegovina where support for Europe can decrease in the current political situation. If the EU wants to maintain its leadership in the region, it should act faster, as soon as the goals, one by one, are met. Thus, I welcome the reaffirmation of unequivocal support of the Member States for the European perspective of the Western Balkan countries as stated in the Zagreb Declaration of 6 May 2020. Given its geographical location, on the one hand, the region is important to the EU in terms of trade and transit routes,” she added.

Pisonero: Montenegro needs progress in reforms, not regress (Pobjeda)

On the EU path, Montenegro needs to make further progress in the implementation of the rule of law, including progress, not regress in the implementation of judicial reform. This was said to Pobjeda in the European Commission, in their comments on the Draft Law on Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Corruption. They noted that Montenegro must ensure a broad consultation process when adopting new legislation that is key to the success of the rule of law reform process. The draft law, signed by MPs Slaven Radunovic, Dragan Krapovic, Branka Bosnjak, Dragan Ivanovic and Milos Konatar, envisages the abolition of the Special State Prosecutor’s Office and the establishment of the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime and Corruption, by means of which the mandate of the current special prosecutors would be terminated. “The rule of law is one of the core values of the EU and as such, a critical element of the EU accession process, which determines the overall pace of Montenegro’s EU accession negotiations. Montenegro needs to make further progress in rule of law reforms, including advances rather than setbacks in the implementation of judicial reforms,” said the European Commission’s spokesperson Ana Pisonero. The European Commission reminded that the adoption of the constitutional amendments in 2013, which strengthened the independence and accountability of the judiciary, was a precondition for Montenegro to open accession negotiations with the EU. “There is a special interim benchmark in Chapter 23 that requires Montenegro to implement these constitutional amendments in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission and European standards and best practices. This also applies to laws such as the Law on Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Law on Special Prosecutor’s Office,” Pisonero said. “As a result of the reforms already implemented, Montenegro has established bodies and mechanisms to ensure judicial and prosecutorial independence and accountability. We encourage Montenegro to consistently use these mechanisms and to build on the work done to further develop results in the fight against corruption and organized crime,” Pisonero concluded.

Albania moves from a ‘hybrid regime’ to a ‘flawed democracy’ (ADN)

Albania is no longer classified as a country with a “hybrid regime”, according to the Economist Index of Global Democracy for 2020. For the first time, Albania has moved to the level of a more developed democracy, “flawed democracy”. Despite the negative connotation, this is a positive assessment as some of the most developed countries in the world are listed in this category, such as France, Belgium, Italy, etc. “Flawed Ddmocracies” are countries where elections are fair and free and basic civil liberties are respected but may have issues such as violations of media freedom, minor repression of political opposition and critics, etc. According to The Economist, Albania performed well in order to move from a “hybrid regime” to a “flawed democracy”. The overall score was 6.08, higher than the global average and the country was ranked at number 71. Unfortunately, the country scored poorly and below the global average for government functioning and political participation. Its overall score was increased by a relatively high score of 7.35 for civil liberties. The lowest score ever was recorded in 2012, 2013 and 2014 when Albania scored only 5.67. points. Things improved a bit for the next three years and went down again in 2019. In the region, Albania was overtaken by Serbia and Hungary, but it performed better than neighboring Northern Macedonia and Montenegro. The Economist said that the increase in Albania’s results was driven by a number of electoral reforms, but it is unclear whether they will result in free or fair elections, so the effects of these reforms remain to be seen in April.

Rama: We are in the same class with the US and the EU! (Radio Tirana)

Prime Minister Edi Rama stated that Albania has entered the same class with the member states of the European Union and the United States of America in terms of the democracy index, referring to the assessment of the prestigious The Economist. Rama made the statement during a press conference. “The index of democracy from the intelligence unit of The Economist, Albania for the first time in 3 decades has an increase and practically a leap. We are in the same class, with the US and the EU, while other countries in the region are still ranked in the category hybrid. Albania is included with EU countries in a more developed democracy,” said Rama.

Referring to justice, the head of government said that judges and prosecutors who have not passed the Vetting will be brought before the new justice. “Whoever waited for the new justice to do something in such a short time expected something that does not happen. Today, right now, I assure you that a crime is being committed every day by judges who are aware they cannot pass the Vetting and do whatever they can. The system is not cleaned; SPAK has started to structure its work,” said Rama adding that the new justice will function and will be tangible, when after the cleansing, the cleaning up of the justice from the corrupt judges carries on parallelly.

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA SOURCES 

Ties That Bind, Ties That Break: The Future of Israel-Balkan Relations (The Media Line, by Tara Kavaler, 4 February 2021) 

Strengthening bonds may harm the Jewish state elsewhere, with implications beyond Europe and the Mideast 

If foreign policy were a for-profit business, Israel-Balkan ties would be a growth industry.

Earlier this week, Israel announced its recognition of the disputed southeastern European state of Kosovo. Not only are Israel’s relationships with the West Balkan countries tightening, particularly with Albania and the countries that made up the former republic of Yugoslavia, but the region is a training ground for the Jewish state to strengthen its diplomatic skills and become a peace broker on the world stage. Last September, then-US President Donald Trump recognized Israel as being crucial to the agreements on economic normalization between Kosovo and Serbia, as each signed parallel documents with the US. “Israel was able to provide something to make that deal happen,” Dr. Yonatan Freeman, an international relations expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, told The Media Line. “That shows the growing diplomatic power Israel has.” “Kosovo also shows that Israel can serve as a mediator when it comes to conflicts that may be unrelated to it,” he said. “I won’t be surprised in the future if Israel becomes involved in agreements between countries far away from Israel, in terms of getting both sides to the table and providing something that both sides can get to make the agreement possible.” Now that Israel has acknowledged Kosovo’s independence, Jerusalem has diplomatic ties with all of the Balkan countries and is generally on good terms with the powers in the region. “Our closest ally is no doubt Serbia, but we also have very close and good relations both with Macedonia and Albania. We also very close relations with Montenegro,” Amb. Dan Orian, head of the Balkans department at Israel’s Foreign Ministry and nonresident ambassador to North Macedonia, told The Media Line. He said that Israel’s nonresident ambassador to Montenegro, Yahel Vilan, who is based in Belgrade and is also envoy to Serbia, presented his credentials to Montenegro’s President Milo Đukanović on Tuesday, and met with the country’s Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić and Foreign Minister Đorđe Radulović on Wednesday. Orian describes Israel’s relationship with Bosnia and Herzegovina as “correct,” which he explained means “good, but less warm” due to the powerful influence of the ethnic minority Bosniaks, who tend to be less pro-Israel and more influenced by Turkey and Iran. Israel’s recognition of the Republic of Kosovo is a major accomplishment for the latter, which declared itself a state 13 years ago. “Israeli recognition is a very important step for Kosovo,” Dr. Faruk Ajeti, a research fellow at the Austrian Institute for International Affairs who focuses on the Balkans, told The Media Line. “For two years, no new countries have recognized Kosovo, and Israel’s move might spur recognitions from new countries.” Greg Delawie, a former US ambassador to Kosovo, also thinks other countries could follow in Israel\s footsteps and recognized the landlocked Balkan country. “I think Israel’s recognition of Kosovo should help encourage other states who have not recognized Kosovo to follow Israel’s lead, which I think would be terrific,” he told The Media Line. Freeman said Israel’s decision to acknowledge Kosovo as a country is also significant because it has long looked up to the Jewish state. “Kosovo sees Israel as a model for how you build a country after war, after lots of losses …, how we can get to a strong country,” he said. “They also had their own challenges with refugees of their own with the ethnic Albanians,” he added. Kosovo is an almost entirely Muslim nation composed primarily of ethnic Albanians. Serbia considers Kosovo an important part of its country, since it contains religiously significant locations for the Serbs. More than 10,000 people died in the 1998-1999 Kosovo War in which NATO intervened to remove Serbian forces from Kosovo. Freeman said that Israel benefits greatly from its new ties with Kosovo and from peace in the Balkans in general. “We have to gain, on the one hand, a new market for fields like agriculture, energy and infrastructure, as well as a new ally in the fight against Islamic extremism against Iran,” he said, adding that both Kosovo and Serbia have agreed to place Hizbullah on their terrorist lists. “Areas that are more stable in terms of economics and politics and everything else are less likely to be used by those threatening Israel security,” Freeman also said. “We want to make sure Iran doesn’t use that instability for its own benefit … . Increasing the security of those in the [Balkans] area also increases our security over here.” This sentiment is echoed by Orian when talking about the agreements reached last September by the former warring sides. “At the end of the day, any good economic steps that are happening in the Balkans are good for us, and we see this as an agreement of stabilization of the Balkans, which is good for everybody,” he said. However, Jan Pieklo, a former Polish ambassador to Ukraine who works as an expert for the European Parliament on the Balkan countries, contends that the significance of the relationship between Kosovo and the Balkans in general is trumped by other matters. “Kosovo and the Balkans are not the top priority of the Israeli government” and vice versa, he told The Media Line. “They have more pressing concerns closer to home.” Austin Doehler, a former visiting scholar at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement in Washington, agrees in part. He believes that other than Kosovo, the Balkan countries do not benefit greatly from their relationships with Israel. “The benefits of engagement with Israel specifically, at least from my perspective, are minimal for most Balkan states. I don’t see any of them as having any of their core interests furthered by drawing closer to Israel, and if anything, it could hurt their prospects for EU membership,” he told The Media Line, adding that if the Balkan countries follow Israel’s lead on certain issues, it could hurt their chances of being accepted into the political union. He cites as an example the countries taking Israel’s side on annexation of parts of the West Bank, a move the European Union vehemently opposes. “I think drawing closer to Israel in itself doesn’t do much for Kosovo, but it signals its commitment to the US as its go-to partner in the West and sends a message to the EU that it’s willing to pursue its own foreign policy while the EU strings it along on questions of visa liberalization and eventual membership,” Doehler added. He said that the Israel’s new relationship with Kosovo is not about either country. “I would argue that this entire Israel-Kosovo issue isn’t really about Israel and Kosovo per se, but is really about the US and its relations with the two,” he said, adding that Israel’s move came “out of left field,” even though it was part of the September White House deal with Serbia and Kosovo. “The US’s involvement in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue in the first place was the Trump Administration’s clumsy attempt to get a foreign policy win to tout going into the November election,” Doehler said. “My belief is that Israel went along with its role in the matter to further ingratiate itself to the Trump Administration.” “Likewise, Kosovo went along with it not only for that reason but also because it wants to establish diplomatic relations with as many countries as possible, especially as Serbia lobbies countries who have already established relations with Kosovo to cut them off,” he added.

The US has long been a fierce supporter of Kosovo, leading the NATO effort in 1999 to intervene in the war. “The US has played a strong role in the Balkans for years. It has worked tirelessly since the NATO intervention of 1999 to support the aspirations of Kosovo’s people for peace, freedom, economic growth and European integration,” Delawie said. He ways that Israel’s move to recognize Kosovo further advances these goals. “I think Israel’s move will make it possible for the United States and Israel to work more closely with each other and to help realize the [aspirations] of Kosovo’s people for the benefit of all three of our countries,” he said. Still, Israel’s growing ties with Kosovo might lead to some growing pains in its relationship with its closest partner in the region, Serbia. Then-Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon “criticized the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999 to stop the ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians and [Israeli lawmaker] Elyakim Haetzni described the Serbs as ‘traditional friends’ of Israel,” Jordan Dewar, a doctoral candidate in government and politics at the University of Maryland who researches the Western Balkans as well as statehood, identity and ethnic conflict, told The Media Line. “This led to a lot of warm feelings between Serbia and Israel, but that seems likely to change with the Israeli recognition of Kosovo,” she added. Orian acknowledged that recognizing Kosovo might hurt Israel’s relationship with Belgrade in the short term. “No doubt that Serbia is far from happy about it. Kosovo is, as they say, ‘their Jerusalem,’” he said. “But they have many friends that recognized Kosovo, from us [Israel] to France and Germany and many others. Yes, it will for a while be harder since Serbia is very close to us.” “We hope that they will fulfill the commitments they made in Washington. They knew that it is part of the deal,” Orian added, referring to, among other things, Serbia’s promised embassy move to Jerusalem. Israel’s good relationship with some the Balkan countries is a bond steeped in history, grounded in actions the population took to save Jews during the Holocaust. “Part of the reasons we have good relations with Serbia is we remember the local population there helped Jews there while World War II was raging and pro-Nazi forces were around,” Freeman said. The same is true for Albanians.

“Albania and Israel have had historically warm relations, based partially on the fact that Albania is the only European country occupied by Axis powers to have a higher Jewish population at the end of World War II than they did before the war,” Dewar said. “The Albanians provided shelter for both Albanian Jews and Jews from neighboring countries and, in return, Israel took in Kosovar Albanian refugees from the Kosovo War in 1999.” This is why Ajeti says that Israeli recognition of Kosovo was long overdue. “The move was a little belated when you consider the help that Kosovo Albanians and Albanians in Albania gave to the Jewish population during the Second World War,” he said. However, Dewar also notes that Israel and Kosovo had close ties before Israel acknowledged the latter’s independence. Despite the lack of recognition, Israel and Kosovo have also had warm relations since Kosovo declared independence in 2008. Israel’s refusal to recognize Kosovo’s independence came mainly because it was unilateral and the Israeli government was worried about the precedent it could set, she said. “Kosovo has a similar ‘Startup Nation’ economic energy as Israel and has a very young and innovative population, which has led to economic exchanges especially in the areas of research and development,” she added. Orian attributed Israel’s delayed recognition to a variety of factors, including not wanting to hurt the peace process with the Palestinians, who are opposed to recognizing Kosovo. He also noted that other countries have not recognized Kosovo out of concerns over treatment of minorities. Israel also did not immediately recognize Kosovo at the behest of Serbia. “Israel considered recognition for many years. … There was the Serb element who, for good reasons, asked us to not take the step,” he said. “We got what I call a package deal, which the US offered to us and to Serbia and Kosovo saying that both countries would open embassies in Jerusalem,” he said. “They also committed to many other things which are important for us, including Hizbullah being on the list of terror organizations.” As such, the Balkans provides Israel with the opportunity to accomplish more of its foreign policy goals, with the hope that other countries will emulate the region. One of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s major priorities is having more countries move their embassies to Jerusalem, recognizing the city as Israel’s capital. As part of the “September agreement,” Kosovo promised to open an embassy in Jerusalem and, also last September, Serbia pledged at the White House to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. When Kosovo opens its diplomatic mission, it will be the first Muslim country to establish an embassy in Jerusalem. The Balkan countries would then double, or nearly double, depending on how you count, the number of embassies in Israel’s capital. Guatemala and the United States are the only two countries that have physical embassies in Jerusalem, while Malawi and Honduras have said they will transfer their main missions from Israel’s commercial hub of Tel Aviv. Orian hopes that Montenegro will soon establish an embassy in Israel. However, Dr. Sidita Kushi, an assistant professor of political science at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts who specializes in the Western Balkans and transatlantic relations, also says that establishing an embassy in Jerusalem might hurt Kosovo when it comes to the EU. “Something else to be on the lookout for is how Kosovo’s controversial decision to establish an embassy in Jerusalem will impact its relationship with EU states and with Arab countries. There is a fear that Kosovo’s decision will alienate it from Europe and perhaps even the US, two transatlantic partners that it desperately needs,” she told The Media Line. Serbia transferring its embassy to Jerusalem would also put the country at odds with Western Europe. When it comes to the future of Israel-Balkans relations, Dewar says that much depends on the actions of Israel and the policies of US President Joe Biden. She believes that Serbia might pressure Israel to take back its acknowledgement of Kosovo independence, which would have consequences for the region and for Israel’s biggest ally. “If Israel does this, it will likely damage relations with both Kosovo and Albania as well as possibly with the United States,” she said. And Dewar believes that, since the Serbian leadership is the same one that led the country during its war with Kosovo and egged on violence against ethnic Albanians, if Biden pushes human rights in Serbia, Kosovo might become closer with Israel. “Pressing the Serbian government for greater accountability [for the atrocities] could lead to Israel, as an ally of the US, naturally falling into a closer partnership with Kosovo due to both shared past tragedies and common partnerships today,” she said. Dewar also said that the closer Kosovo gets with Israel, the worse Israel’s relationship will be with Serbia. However, this may be offset by deepening ties with the new US president.

“With the new Biden Administration in the US poised to press Serbia more on recognizing Kosovo and hopefully taking greater accountability for past crimes against humanity, Israel might be better off fostering relations with Kosovo rather than Serbia in order to keep closer ties with the new US administration,” she said. However, Orian is more optimistic about Israel-Balkan relations. “We signed doubled taxation agreements with North Macedonia and we are waiting for the signature on double taxation with Albania,” he said. “We are hoping to have the first meeting of the new Economic Joint Committee with Serbia, which is the highest level [of economic cooperation] we have for now in the Balkans.”