"We are threatened because Belgrade does not distance itself from Slobodan Milosevic's crimes in the 1990s, nor from Putin's crimes today. This binding of Belgrade to its dark past and simultaneously to the Kremlin makes the situation in the Western Balkans unstable."
This is what Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said in an exclusive interview with BGNES.
"In the 20th century, Yugoslavia was created and destroyed with the same goal - the creation of a Greater Serbia. It did not succeed, but now official Belgrade is unhappy with the result it caused and at the same time feels nostalgic for a past it did not really have," Kurti said.
The prime minister emphasized that the state of Kosovo "is getting stronger in socio-economic, democratic and security aspects", which makes Belgrade worried.
"That is why they reinforce the obstacles to the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, which should be good neighbourly relations according to the European model of mutual recognition," Albin Kurti said.
Asked by BGNES what Pristina and Sofia can do to stop the copy of the "Russian world" in the Balkans - Serbian world, and whether the West underestimates Serbian chauvinism again, Kurti replied:
"Serbian World is an idea that is based on the premise that Serbs cannot be a minority anywhere. Others can be minorities - Croats, Bosniaks, Albanians, Bulgarians, we can be a minority in any other country, so to speak, but Serbs cannot be a minority. I think this is an anti-European position against democracy, human rights, the rule of law and political pluralism. What we need to do is to strengthen our bilateral cooperation within the EU and NATO, which implies policies based on values, but at the same time including an interest in the well-being of all people. I believe the solution is more cooperation and more Europe in our region."
Asked whether he sees similarities between the political discourse in Skopje and Belgrade and whether both countries are sincere in their desire to join the EU and stop Russian influence, the Kosovo PM explained:
"North Macedonia is a neighbouring country for us, they recognise us and we have friendly and good neighbourly relations. We fully support the protocol of the second meeting of the joint intergovernmental commission between North Macedonia and Bulgaria. Skopje is part of NATO and this makes the country more secure and all our relations good. I am optimistic for the future that there will be constitutional changes and that all the countries in the region will join the EU. Of course, those who want to. I say this because the majority in Northern Macedonia wants to be in the EU, but this is not the case in Serbia. There, only 24% of society wants to be in the EU."
Kurti pointed out that there are 135 investors from Bulgaria in Kosovo in sectors such as transport, tourism and others.
"We need to increase our trade relations. On the other hand, we need to work more in defence. There are 142 Bulgarian officers and soldiers participating in KFOR. We have a wonderful relationship with them. Kosovo's defence minister will come to Sofia in June to sign an agreement with his Bulgarian counterpart. We can do more in the areas of education, culture and trade. One of the things we will do is to increase business meetings between Kosovo and Bulgaria. Corridor 8 should also be part of this. All countries that love the EU and NATO in the region should be connected," the Kosovo Prime Minister added. /BGNES
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