Authorities in Kosovo consider that there are great chances that the Presidential elections in Serbia this spring would affect not only Kosovo Serbs but also the process of the political dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

Officials of the government of Kosovo claim that election campaigns and incentive statements in Serbia “always affected Kosovo.”

The Minister for Dialogue, Edita Tahiri told Radio Free Europe that the election campaigns in Serbia aim a political marketing which “affect the relations between the two countries by blocking the process of the dialogue for normalization of the relations. During the last six years of the dialogue, the dynamics slowed down each time Serbia held elections. We are witnesses of the national elections held in Serbia last year, and we had some sort of a blockade of the dialogue from the beginning of the year until August,” Tahiri said.

 She added that incentive actions and statements in Serbia can be considered as destabilizing rhetoric and part of the new agendas and geo-political ambitions that Russia is expressing towards Balkans.

“Instead of being a destabilizing factor, Serbia should change and become factor of stability, and have a European behavior. The other alternatives used there are harmful for Serbia. And I expect from Serbia to lower its voice from now on, because the new U.S. administration made its foreign policy towards Balkans and Kosovo clear. It was clearly said that support towards Balkans and Kosovo continues,” Tahiri said.

 Nenad Rasic, Kosovo Assembly MP from the Serbian List, said “elections in Serbia will by all means have an impact in Kosovo being that they will be organized also in the Serb populated locations in Kosovo.” However, he considered that no matter the election campaign rhetoric the dialogue in Brussels would not be affected and it could only be postponed for a short period of time.

 Political analyst from Kosovo, Driton Selmanaj, said that Kosovo has always been “a card” during the election campaigns in Serbia.

 “The important thing is to measure the impacts and concrete actions of Serbia in relation to Kosovo. Recent behaviors, such as the wall, train and international warrants are the ones that seriously impede and burden the dialogue,” Selmanaj said.