Kosovo`s Prime Minister Albin Kurti talks during a press conference at the Western Balkans - EU Summit in Kotor, Montenegro, 16 May 2024.
The EU and the US are "too soft" on Serbia and should set a deadline for it to accept sanctions against Russia, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said.
Kurti said Belgrade should side with the West against Moscow to give Kosovo confidence that it is committed to normalizing relations.
Brussels and Washington "need to change their approach and give Serbia a deadline to impose sanctions on the Russian Federation and stop trying to sit on three or four chairs," Kurti said in an interview with the Financial Times.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic maintains close ties with the Kremlin and Beijing while seeking EU membership and constructive relations with Washington.
Vucic refuses to impose sanctions on Russia but allows Serbian-made ammunition to be shipped to Ukraine.
"When Serbia introduces sanctions against the Russian Federation, that will be the moment when it will show that it wants to integrate into the EU. Serbia without Russia cannot threaten the security of the continent. So then I could trust that they in principle, want peace. And the US and the EU will not try to appease them anymore," Kurti explained.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and relations remain tense.
Last year, EU negotiators, backed by the US, struck a tentative deal under which Serbia would informally recognize Kosovo's statehood. Under the agreement, Pristina will provide some self-government for 10 municipalities with a Serb majority. It was never implemented, and tensions arose over the authorities' attempts to impose full control over the Serb-majority areas of northern Kosovo.
In September, there was a shootout between the Kosovo police and dozens of Serbian paramilitary formations that had barricaded themselves in a monastery in Banska. Belgrade has denied involvement in the attack, although the paramilitaries had a large stockpile of Serbian-made weapons.
Kurti's relations with Brussels and Washington have been severely strained by what Western officials see as his heavy-handed and counterproductive attempts to tighten Pristina's grip on areas with a predominantly Serbian population.
After Serbs boycotted local elections last year, Pristina appointed ethnic Albanian mayors who won by default in predominantly Serb areas.
Last week, Kosovo police raided several branches of a Serbian bank and seized Serbian currency. The dinar was banned as a medium of exchange in Kosovo earlier this year, although many Kosovo Serbs receive salaries or pensions in the currency. Kosovo uses the euro.
Kurti, who has been prime minister for three years and faces elections next year, said the restrictions stemmed from his country's constitution, which provides for only one means of payment. He added that two-thirds of Serbs receive benefits from Kosovo in euros.
The prime minister declined to say when Pristina would withdraw its special police from the northern municipalities but insisted that Serb complaints about their presence were diminishing.
Kurti admitted that "sometimes there are differences" with his European and American allies "when it comes to strategies, operations and tactics on the ground, on the one hand, and when it comes to relations with Serbia", but not on values or principles.
The "soft" approach of the West is a consequence of the high hopes that sooner or later Serbia will move into the Western democratic camp. In my opinion, we have waited too long to hope yet," concluded the Prime Minister. /BGNES
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