- ARAB NEWS
- 19 Apr 2024
Since 1975
FAISAL J. ABBAS | Editor-in-Chief
PRISTINA, Kosovo: Fourteen years ago, the Republic of Kosovo declared its independence and became — at the time — the world’s newest country. Backed by its main ally, the United States, and protected by a United Nations-mandated NATO presence, Kosovo enters its 15th year of independence facing several challenges, and some clear and present dangers too.
Despite the backing of some of the world’s biggest and most influential states, Kosovo is still not part of the United Nations and is only recognized by less than 100 of the 193 UN member states.
Similarly, despite being located right in the heart of Europe, and despite huge support from the European Union, it is still not an EU member and Kosovars still do not enjoy visa-free travel across the continent.
The main cause of most of Kosovo’s pains is the deeply rooted and ancient rift with its northern neighbor, Serbia. Both countries were part of the former Yugoslavia, and following its break-up, were part of a bloody decade in the Balkans during the 1990s.
Serbia refuses to recognize Kosovo nor apologize for the atrocities of the 1998-1999 war which only ended with NATO intervention. Of course, the current standstill and mutual non-recognition prevents both countries from accession to the European Union, where five countries still do not recognize Kosovo.
Previous Kosovar leaders have tried to engage in dialogue with Serbia. However, since assuming office in March 2021, the current prime minister, Albin Kurti, has signaled repeatedly that talks with Belgrade are not a priority.
“So, we did not want to neglect dialogue with Serbia. But I cannot have it as priority number one. I said from the onset of this government that jobs, justice and pandemic COVID-19 are our top three priorities. Number four could be the dialogue there as well,” he told Arab News in an interview in his office in Pristina.
“This dialogue which we are approaching in a constructive and creative manner with different proposals, is a dialogue about the status of relations between Kosovo and Serbia. Kosovo and Serbia do not recognize each other. So, the solution is mutual recognition.”
Yet, there are other elements that further complicate the possibility of normalization and mutual accession to the EU. To start with, there are the dark shadows of the past. A few months after being after his election, Kurti spoke of reviving plans to sue Serbia for genocide to an international court and rejected some Western calls for its minority Serbs to vote in a Serbian referendum, which Pristina considers ”unconstitutional.”
The other aspect is that officials in Kosovo blatantly accuse their Serbian counterparts of being far more interested in being part of the Russian orbit, as opposed to the European one.
“Serbia has close cultural, historical and military links with Moscow,” said Kurti. Answering a question on how the close relation between Belgrade and Moscow might impact his country if a war does erupt between Russian and Ukraine, Kurti said that it might push Serbia to become “more aggressive,” so while Pristina is “following the situation very carefully, we are not afraid.”
I think, people of Kosovo, the Balkans and in Europe, should know more about the reforms and the progress in Saudi Arabia. We want to strengthen cooperation with the kingdom.
Despite this, several critics of recent American foreign policy decisions believe Kosovo has several reasons to be concerned, given that to many of its allies and friends, neither Washington nor NATO has proven to be a friend in need in recent years.
In Ukraine, former US President Barack Obama’s so-called red lines did very little to deter Russia from seizing Crimea in 2014. More recently, as part of the current Biden administration’s pivot toward ending “forever wars,” the world saw painful images of Afghans desperately seeking to escape Kabul airport after Washington agreed to hand over Afghanistan back to the Taliban, 20 years after it waged a war to bring democracy to the country and end the rule of the same extremist group.
However, Kurti strongly has a strong belief that NATO is in Kosovo to stay, and that if push comes to shove, Kosovars are able to defend themselves. “I think that Kosovo has great people with great will and courage, on one hand, and on the other hand, I think that our defense and security forces and NATO, especially US, are here to stay,” he said. “And we are certain that we will be victorious in any kind of future crisis which might occur, but which we do not want to have.”
In fact, Kurti is so confident of NATO’s commitment to his country, that he believes it is more likely that his country Kosovo will join the alliance as a full member much sooner than it gets EU membership status.
“I believe that this is the case for two reasons. First, in the EU we have five non-recognizers out of 27, whereas in NATO we have four non-recognizers out of 30. So, one non-recognizer less in NATO than in EU,” he said.
“But in addition, the criteria and standards that you have to fulfill to join NATO are not as complex as they are for joining the EU. So, it is realistic to expect that we will first join NATO and then EU”.
In addition to this, NATO does not require members to be member states of the UN nor the EU, so provided that Pristina manages to convince Spain, Greece, Romania and Slovakia, the prime minister’s vision might become reality in the next few years, observers argue.
Relations with the Muslim world
While the non-recognizer EU members might argue their position as to not encourage separatist movements in their countries, it is remarkable that as it stands, only slightly over half of the members of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) recognize Kosovo, a Muslim-majority country. Leading the way for recognizers are mostly the moderate Muslim countries, such as regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
However, how does the prime minister of Kosovo feel about fellow Muslim states who are non-recognizers, particularly a major Islamic country like Iran?
“We think that it’s a big mistake that some of the countries with a Muslim-majority population are not recognizing Kosovo. I think that they have been misinformed by Serbia. And some of them do this because they keep some close links with the Russian Federation.”
“However, I would urge all the countries in the world for the sake of long-term peace, sustainable security, and recognizing the rights of people to freedom and self-determination, to recognize independence of Kosovo. In a way, those who do not recognize independence of Kosovo, with or without intention, they fall prey to supporting Serbia from the time of militias that committed genocide in Kosovo.”
It is not enough not to be corrupted; you should be incorruptible. And I think that our Cabinet of ministers who are well-educated, good professionals, who do not want to get rich from politics.
Another paradoxical twist in the tale is the non-recognition of the Palestinian Authority. On the one hand, one would think that the representatives of a people who have for seven decades protested and fought against the illegal occupation by Israel would be the first to stand by and recognize Kosovo.
Yet, as of today the PA does not recognize Kosovo and its late leader, Yasser Arafat, had been criticized for close ties and siding with late Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic back at the turn of the century.
Meanwhile, while Israel and Kosovo only formally recognized each other last year, Tel Aviv’s policy towards Kosovo has for long been non-aggressive. Even before the recognition, which has been lobbied for under former US President Donald J. Trump, Israel supported Kosovo in obtaining IMF and World Bank memberships.
Just as we know how much Palestinian people suffered, they should not neglect the suffering of the Albanians in Kosovo.
However, Kosovo’s announcement last year of its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital Israel left many Muslim countries shocked owing to the sensitivity of the matter.
So, what is the current sentiment in Pristina toward the Palestinian Authority and cause? “I think that, just as we know how much Palestinian people suffered, they should not neglect the suffering of the Albanians in Kosovo, who survived Serbia’s genocide,” says Kurti.
Was the Trump-era decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in any form a retaliation against the Palestinian official position of not-recognition of Kosovo? The prime minister denies any linkage.
“That has nothing to do with our stance toward Palestinian people and their cause. We want to have good relations with Palestine, with the Palestinian Authority and with Palestinians as people,” he said.
Last year, Kosovo joined several Arab and Muslim states in designating the Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah as a terrorist group. When asked about the background of that decision, Kurti said it is “not difficult to recognize terrorists and violent extremists.”
“So, in line with our beliefs and values, on which we are building our country and on which we are orienting future generations, we made such a decision in Kosovo, and we are part of the global coalition against violent extremism and terrorists,” he said.
“So, we also condemned all the attacks and activities of Hezbollah, but also of Daesh.”
Asked about the recent Houthi strike on Abu Dhabi airport and the series of attacks targeting populated areas in Saudi Arabia, Kurti said he was appalled by the images, adding that the incidents are something that can never be tolerated.
But do these attacks against civilians mean that he agrees that the Houthis should be designated as a terrorist group? “Yes, I think all these attacks on civilians are terrorist actions,” he said.
Kosovo itself (as well as Bosnia) has had its own issues with dealing with home-grown terror, with a number of its citizens leaving to join Daesh a few years ago. However, the country’s prime minister sees no room for tolerating extremist ideology.
“There were a couple of hundred people from Kosovo who unfortunately joined these absolute wars. But some of them never came back, and for those who came back, we have done some rehabilitation programs. Some are also serving their sentences in prison,” said Kurti.
“There had been some manipulation of certain individuals. I can imagine due to their lack of educational background, perhaps unemployment and social misery, and we have to have a certain sensitivity toward the situation. However, this will never stop us from harshly condemning violent extremism.”
“Kurtinomics” and Saudi Vision 2030
At the start of the interview, Kurti congratulated the Saudi leadership and people on the occasion of the newly announced annual “Founding Day,” which will be celebrated in the Kingdom every February 22.
Throughout the discussion, he appeared up to speed on developments that have been taking place in Saudi Arabia.
“I think, people of Kosovo, but also people in the Balkans and in Europe, should know more about the reforms and the progress in Saudi Arabia. We want to strengthen cooperation with Saudi Arabia. It’s a very rich country, both in its culture and history, but likewise in its natural resources and economic development.”
The reforms that Kurti was referring to are, of course, those carried out under Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s Vision 2030. The agenda includes diversifying the economy away from its dependence on oil and creating jobs for Saudi youth who form the majority of the population, previously unimaginable social freedoms and religious reforms, as well as a relentless fight against corruption.
For his part, Kurti and his party won the election in Kosovo last year based on a “jobs and justice” campaign that focused on creating opportunities for the youth and women, and a promise to tackle corruption.
He sees a resemblance and an opportunity for both countries to cooperate further, and has invited Riyadh to make use of the opportunity and invest heavily in this new environment in Kosovo.
“With our government we are fighting corruption. There is no tolerance for corruption. And we are also growing our economy. For example, last year we registered two-thirds higher exports than the year before, exports of our goods. Budget revenues increased by one-third.
“Likewise, increased business turnover, while foreign direct investment increased by over 50 percent. These figures show that Kosovo is progressing. And the best way for more progress is to invest in the already existing progress.”
But how exactly do “Kurtinomics” works? Well, according to the man leading the reforms, it is all about giving people hope and a reason to believe in the program. “When people are hopeful, they would rather spend than save in our economy if it is growing. Because when you expect rainy days in the future, you’d rather save than spend. Then when people see that government is not corrupt, they are more ready to pay taxes and other
contributions. That’s why budget revenues in Kosovo, tax revenues, increased by a third without changing fiscal policy.”
“And the last thing is that tax administration started to have greater discipline than before. So, fighting corruption and crime helps not only the common values of the people, but also the health of the economy. On the other hand, our diaspora, which is huge — especially concentrated in German-speaking Europe — they sent even more remittances back home than before,” he said.
“We have also established a commercial court. And in this way, we want to create a good environment for business. Kosovo has the euro as a currency, and a very young population. The average age is 30 years, even though we are an ancient people. And we are located at the heart of the Balkans, close with European markets. And at the same time, Kosovo is a country which never forgets its friends, and wants to have good relations with all peace-loving nations in the world.”
As for the fight against corruption, Kurti admits his government has a mountain to climb. “Corruption in Kosovo was high in the past, and has not been eradicated altogether. But it was quite concentrated at the top. So, there was no trickle-down effect. Corruption was concentrated at the top and now we stopped it precisely at the top, with the government change through democratic elections. This is the first point”.
“The second point is that it is not enough not to be corrupted; you should be incorruptible. And I think that our government is a Cabinet of ministers who are well-educated, good professionals — people who do not want to get rich from politics. We say to all our friends and activists: Whoever likes to get very rich, try your luck and skills in the private sector. In public service of state institutions, you are supposed to serve.
“So, serving is our vocation, to the best of our abilities and knowledge.”
But what are the opportunities that lie ahead? Kurti cites the ICT sector (information communication technology), wood and metal processing as well as agriculture and renewable energy. He said that, as prime minister, he looks forward to get actively engaged in promoting these sectors.
