The Kosovo government has accused Serbia of blowing up a crucial pipeline that supplies water and electricity to the ethnically Serb population in the north of Kosovo. Even more troubling, some in Kosovo claim that Russian President Vladimir Putin may have even had a hand in it.
“Serbia acts as a key player in the Kremlin’s bid for chaos in the Balkans, so Putin can have leverage over Western powers who do not want the violence to escalate further,” Ivana Stradner, research fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital.
Russia has deep historical, cultural and religious connections to the Balkans, and narratives sympathetic to Russia often emanate from the Serbian Orthodox Church. Stradner says Putin exploits these religious and ethnic divisions in the Balkans, pushing the region to the brink of war. She also noted that the Serbian president also benefits from chaos in the Balkans, using it to strengthen his grip on power.
TENSIONS RISE AMID CLAIMS OF RUSSIA, SERBIA INTERFERENCE IN KOSOVO FOLLOWING RECENT BLOODSHED
Kosovo Police officers patrol in the streets of Mitrovica, which is ethnically split between Serbs in the north and Albanians in the south, on Nov. 30, 2024. (Photo by STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images)
“Vucic has employed a strategy of escalating and de-escalating crises in Kosovo to portray himself as a source of stability, leveraging his position as a bargaining chip with the West,” Stradner added.
Some experts are cautious as accusations and information is often fluid following crises in the Balkans.
“This latest escalation, much like the previous ones, involves serious allegations – ranging from Kosovo’s claim that the Serbian government orchestrated these events to suspicions of Russian involvement,” Helena Ivanov, associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.
Ivanov warned that previous rounds of escalation and allegations lacked concrete evidence and that many of the claims remain conjecture until a full investigation is completed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, on Sept. 5, 2024. (Kirill Kazachkov/Roscongress Foundation via REUTERS)
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said at a news conference that the attack on critical infrastructure was similar to Russia’s actions targeting energy infrastructure in Ukraine. So far, there is no evidence to suggest Russia had any involvement.
Kurti placed the blame squarely on Serbia and President Vucic for plotting what Kosovo is calling a terrorist attack on the water supply canal in the northern town of Zubin Potok.
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Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti speaks during an interview with Reuters at his office in Pristina, Kosovo, on Aug. 10, 2022. (REUTERS/Fedja Grulovic)
“All evidence reveals a continuation of Serbia’s strategy of aggression, with the Vučić regime exploiting a plethora of resources, including ties with organized crime, in their effort to inflict harm and cause instability within Kosovo,” Ilir Dugolli, Kosovo’s ambassador to the U.S., told Fox News Digital.
“This is only the latest in the long list of acts of aggression by Serbia,” the ambassador added.
Approximately 20 kilos of explosives were used in the massive blast in what Ambassador Dugolli called a highly sophisticated manner, further indicating the professional preparation and execution of the operation.
President Vucic adamantly denied the accusations, calling them “baseless.”
Vucic claimed in a post on Instagram that the accusations against Serbia are intended to tarnish Serbia’s international reputation and undermine stability in the Balkans region. The president is also calling for a “thorough, impartial, and transparent investigation” into what he called an act of sabotage.
Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric told Fox News Digital that the sabotage that took place in the north of Kosovo is a serious threat to peace and stability, and he reiterated Vucic’s demand for a thorough investigation under international supervision.
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Djuric also repeated Vucic’s claims that the aims of the operation were to discredit Serbia.
“We have grounds to believe that this was a hybrid attack aimed at discrediting Serbia, and that is why we continue to emphasize that it is in our immediate interest to identify the perpetrators and masterminds behind this attack,” Djuric told Fox News Digital.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, pictured here, and Serbian Patriarch Porfirije make statements to the press after their meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, on Dec. 27, 2022. (Photo by Milos Miskov/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Djuric suggested that Kurti could be behind the attack, but did not back up the claim with evidence, but he also made sure to point out that Serbia was ready to offer any assistance to the investigation.
Kosovo’s Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said that eight suspects linked to the attack were arrested and that the damage to the canal had been fixed. Svecla also said that Kosovo police raided 10 locations and confiscated uniforms, heavy weaponry and other military equipment.
Kurti and Vucic met with the European Union’s new High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas in Brussels. Kallas said in a post on X that the only way to EU membership for both parties is through normalization of their relations.
Both Serbia and Kosovo are EU aspirants, and ending their feud is a core requirement for gaining membership. Failure to honor their obligations or ratcheting up tensions will have negative consequences for their EU accession processes and block any potential EU financial aid. The ongoing dispute and the recent turmoil remain major obstacles to EU membership for both.
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Conflict between Serbia and Kosovo following the 1999 war is unresolved and is a roadblock to their normalization process. Kosovo was a former province of Serbia and was once integrated within the nation of Yugoslavia. NATO led a bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999, which comprised Serbia and Montenegro, to defend Kosovo’s ethnic Albanians against violence from Belgrade. Nearly a decade later, in 2008, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, along with its historic patron, Russia, refuses to recognize its independence.
Tensions are especially fought in the north of Kosovo, where ethnic Serbs make up a majority of the territory and refuse to recognize Kosovo’s independence. Serbs in northern Kosovo still look to Belgrade as their capital.