‘Overreaction’: Kosovo leader blasts US response to violent unrest

BRATISLAVA — The U.S. decision to penalize Kosovo following violent clashes that left NATO troops wounded is both surprising and an “overreaction,” Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti told POLITICO on Wednesday.

The U.S. and its Western allies have sharply rebuked Pristina amid growing tensions in the region over Kosovo’s decision to forcibly install ethnic Albanian mayors in municipal buildings in majority-Serb areas, despite a turnout of under 4 percent in recent local elections. 

In response to the deepening crisis, Washington went as far as canceling Kosovo’s participation in a U.S.-led military exercise and declaring that it now has little enthusiasm to help Kosovo move toward EU and NATO membership. 

“We have a slight difference in approach — and I think that thinking of sanctions against Kosova seems out of proportion and unfair,” Kurti said in an interview on the sidelines of the GLOBSEC conference in Bratislava. “I was surprised,” he added, characterizing the American response as an “overreaction.” 

NATO this week moved to deploy 700 additional peacekeeping troops to Kosovo after 30 soldiers from the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) were injured during a confrontation with Serb protesters on Monday.

The demonstrations link back to local elections in April that Serbs boycotted over unmet demands to receive more autonomy, resulting in a low turnout and election of the ethnic Albanian mayors. Kosovo has since held firm that the elected officials must take office, despite the unrest.

“The Government of Kosovo’s decision to force access to municipal buildings sharply and unnecessarily escalated tensions,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Tuesday.  

Blinken also said Kosovo “should ensure that elected mayors carry out their transitional duties from alternate locations outside municipal buildings, and withdraw police forces from the vicinity.”

Kurti, nevertheless, insisted that the police forces are staying in place. 

“The violent mob has to leave — either by going to prison or to Serbia,” he said. Only then, Kurti added, will Kosovo “decrease the amount of policemen.” 

The prime minister blamed Serbia’s government for the latest uptick in tensions. And when asked if he fears the current situation could escalate into a broader conflict, Kurti warned, “it can.” But, he added, it “depends” on Belgrade.

The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, who has played a leading role in negotiating between Kosovo and Serbia said in a statement on Tuesday that he had been in touch with both Kurti and Vučić.

Earlier this year, Borrell also helped seal a tentative agreement between Kosovo and Serbia to normalize relations. But that pact was made before the April elections, raising questions about its ongoing validity.

In the interview on Wednesday, Kurti indicated that he would be willing to talk to Vučić if a meeting is set up. But the prime minister also pointed a finger at Western capitals. 

“What we see from the democratic West is a certain appeasement attitude,” he said. “This is how we got here.”