Massive post-election demonstration in Belgrade today:
No, President
@avucic
, this is not ‘6 January Washington.’ Those MAGA protesters violently attacked police AFTER their grievances had been heard and roundly dismissed by independent courts, including by Trump-appointed
“Blinken needs to decide if regional disorder & the damage to US credibility are worth the headlong embrace of a Serbian autocrat” & “must re-center democratic values as the core of US policy.” My latest in
@ForeignPolicy
.
#Kosovo
#Serbia
#Balkans
1/ Is anyone surprised that Moscow would - immediately - claim that Russian atrocities in
#Bucha
were “staged”? Does anyone remember that Serbian President
#Vucic
– two decades after the fact – claimed that Serbian atrocities in
#Racak
, Kosovo were “fabricated”? 🧵
🧵 Extremely serious developments in Kosovo – and test of US commitment in the Balkans. Encouraged by
@USAmbKosovo
Hovenier’s swift, fact-based response to killing of Kosovo Police Officer. My question: what will be the stance of US Embassy Belgrade? My suggestion: 1/
Honored to join Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo Albin Kurti on a highly meaningful milestone: state reception marking 25 years since the successful conclusion of the 1999 NATO Air Campaign over Kosovo.
Ric Grenell is spinning American voters & non-Americans on Serbia, Kosovo & the Trump record in the Balkans. Rather than “solving” the Kosovo standoff, Grenell’s diplomacy ended up in another Belgrade dead-end. 🧵1/
Alarmed White House is calling on Serbia to withdraw its deployment along the Kosovo border.
@SecBlinken
“underscored [to
@avucic
] the need to de-escalate tensions with Kosovo.” 10+ hrs in & neither
@usambserbia
nor
@USEmbassySerbia
have re-tweeted the crisis messages. 1/2
With man of the hour - Savo Kentera - National Security (counter-espionage) chief in
#Montenegro
, who was fired today in the midst of our
#NATO
conference. 1/4
Miroslav Lajcak responds clearly -- by not responding -- to my suggestion for EU/US to press Belgrade to finally choose West, by presenting Serbia and Kosovo with “take it or leave it” deal.
#Balkans
#Kosovo
#Serbia
#EUdialogue
Invaluable tête-à-tête with Albin Kurti, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo. Always good to get a first-hand perspective in a crisis.
#KFOR
#NATO
#Kosovo
Vucic says he will have one-on-one with Zelensky Tuesday in Athens. President
@ZelenskyyUa
, be ready to hear a lot of nonsense about Serbian “neutrality” on Russian aggression against your country. As you know, the only thing worse than neutrality is fake neutrality: 🧵
Wonderful to be in the independent Republic of
#Kosovo
, with former
#NATO
Secretary General Lord Robertson, 25 years after co-managing the Stenkovec Refugee Camp.
On 22 December,
@usambserbia
Hill stated correctly that “elections are a stress test for democracy.” With police battering protesters in the streets of Belgrade, the stress is mounting on Serbia … and the US.
@StateEUR
&
@StateDept
should bear in mind Vucic’s go-to moves: 🧵👇
Signed by Menendez & chairs of Foreign Aff. Comtes. in Europe, US/EU can’t ignore this call for strategic sense in Balkans policy. Key warning: “do not adopt a Belgrade-centred policy for the region.” Key signatory isn’t from US/EU, but Ukraine. 🧵1/
Wonderful to meet Kosovo Ambassador Ilir Dugolli at the stunning new embassy in Washington. The embassy is a great neighbor and the Republic of Kosovo is a great, democratic friend.
#Kosovo
Biggest surprise from today's UNSC face-off between Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani and Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic: that bombastic Vucic was overmatched by dignified, thoroughly-prepared Osmani? No, that was to be expected.
It was only 25 years ago, when NATO’s intervention coupled with my people’s unwavering aspiration for freedom and liberty marked not just a decisive turn in our country’s history, but also a decisive milestone in the modern history of humankind.
It underscored the imperative
Yes,
@USEmbassySerbia
, these Serbian protesters today are “raising grievances through legal, peaceful, nonviolent means”, as you insisted they should be. The job of US & EU is to make clear the CONSEQUENCES if Serbia’s institutions – including courts – fail to investigate
Wonderful to celebrate 16th Anniversary of Kosovo Independence with Ambassador and Mrs Dugolli, right at the beautiful new ROK Embassy. You can be proud!
#Kosovo
A dynamic host and global leader on Women, Peace and Security. Thank you President Osmani for inviting me to speak at this important WPS Forum, and for hosting this beautiful evening event.
#WPSRKS2024
#Kosovo
Great that
@VjosaOsmaniPRKS
met
@ZelenskyyUa
. Ukraine can be the key to the region.
“The Kyiv-Kosovo Catalyst: Ukraine’s Recognition of Kosovo Can Affirm Western Order in the Balkans and Across Europe”
At times when it matters where you stand, I expressed our full solidarity to President
@ZelenskyyUa
. No one understands Ukraine’s pain, struggle and resilience better than the people of Kosovo.
Nothing can stand in the way of a people’s will to be free. 🇽🇰🇺🇦
#SlavaUkraini
Having dealt with crises in
#Kosovo
, I have some thoughts on US/EU/NATO efforts to address a highly volatile situation, including the US/EU ‘Joint Statement’ issued this morning. Having watched the
#Balkans
deteriorate after 24 Feb, I also have questions for policymakers. 🧵1/
@srpskalista
leadership in the north is outraged by
#Kosovo
’s license plate policy. But why no outrage over the unsolved 2018 murder of Kosovo Serb leader
#OliverIvanovic
? 1/5
Ambassador Chris Hill expressed his condolences for the loss of Serb lives during the wars of the 1990’s, and specifically the NATO air campaign. Was it wise to do so? No. Was it wrong to do so? More complicated answer. 🧵1/
Congratulations to
#Kosovo
– and the European Commission – on finally achieving
#VisaLiberalization
for Kosovo citizens. The EC’s Recommendation for Kosovo was ignored by major EU countries for five years. That EC Recommendation was based on scrutiny of Kosovo’s record on
Serb '"assailants" (US) damaged a lot more than this gate at Banjska Monastery with their fatal confrontation with Kosovo Police on 24 September. The final toll is yet to be tallied.
#Kosovo
#Serbia
1/ First, it's up to Macedonians to decide, in democratic debate with full transparency and disclosure, whether the EU accession proposal protects their dignity, security and identity. No outsider can make such a determination for them.
As your Ally, partner, and friend, we have supported your goal of a Euro-Atlantic future. I wanted to share a few thoughts on this historic opportunity:
“Moscow understands that Kosovo—not energy or Orthodox Slavic fraternity—is the enabler for the Serbian-Russian relationship and for regional destabilization promoted from Belgrade.”
@ForeignPolicy
#Balkans
Can anyone in Kosovo stand up for the simple principle that it is in Kosovo's own strategic interests to follow Kosovo's own laws and treat all of Kosovo's citizens -- including Kosovo Serbs -- according to the law?
The Embassies of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, together with the EU Office in Kosovo, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Mission in Kosovo regret the decision taken by the Government of Kosovo on May 30 to finalize
Honored to testify on the Western
#Balkans
today in the House of Commons, Foreign Affairs Comm. Grateful for opportunity to debut my argument that Ukraine's recognition of Kosovo can advance US/EU diplomacy btw BG&PRN. Thank you to Chair/MP Alicia Kearns.
🧵1/ Milorad Dodik – speaking w/Vucic in Prijedor, site of severe Serb war crimes – asked: ‘Why do we have no right [to commemorate pain of Operation Storm]?’ Answer: Serbs have the right to commemorate their suffering; their leaders have no right to mislead Serbs once again.
Honored to join President of the Republic of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani and President Bajram Begu of the Republic of Albania at the state reception marking 25 years since the successful conclusion of the 1999 NATO Air Campaign over Kosovo.
As a former Army helicopter pilot - who deployed with NATO/IFOR in Bosnia-Herzegovina - I am thrilled to see President Osmani fly this Bell helicopter. (I flew the UH-1, also a Bell helicopter.) I'm counting on President Osmani to pilot
#Kosovo
into the Council of Europe! A
Enjoyed my first helicopter piloting lesson with Pilot Joe Decapite—one of Bell's most seasoned pilots, who also served in Kosovo 15 years ago.
Honored to learn from the best at one of the leading companies in the world in helicopter design and manufacturing.
27 years ago today, Ratko Mladic and his forces began the terminal assault on
#Zepa
- the neighboring enclave of Srebrenica and fellow victim of the VRS "genocidal enterprise" in Eastern Bosnia. 1/
Honored to meet Croatian former President Stipe Mesic and former Foreign Minister Mate Granic at this milestone event in Pristina. To this day, Croatia remains a strong friend of Kosovo, and active ally deployed with KFOR.
#Kosovo
Ukraine’s recognition of Kosovo can catalyze 4NATO/5EU
#nonrecognizers
to follow suit, removing Belgrade’s leverage over Pristina – and any need for further supplicating the pro-Russian Vucic regime. Instead, US/EU can mediate a dignified final settlement of Kosovo standoff. 3/
The Clinton family visited Kosovar children and families in June 1999, following the successful end of NATO’s mission to end the war in Kosovo. President
@BillClinton
committed the U.S. to helping the refugees rebuild their lives and communities.
#WorldRefugeeDay
#WithRefugees
Returning from N. Mitrovica on Anniversary of the 1999
@NATO
Air Campaign. 25 years later Serbs and Albanians desperately need a positive breakthrough. Council of Europe
@coe
membership would be at least a start for both.
Like Putin does with Russians, Vucic encourages Serbs to think of themselves as victims, not perpetrators. For Belgrade, the recent history of Kosovo begins in 1999, with NATO bombing, not 1989 with removal of autonomy – and a decade of brutal repression. 3/
Kurti & Vucic are headed to BRU on 2/27 for big meeting on US-EU proposal. Next stop for
@albinkurti
&
@VjosaOsmaniPRKS
should be to Kyiv to discuss Ukrainian recognition of Kosovo w/
@ZelenskyyUa
to inflict a blow on Putin.
Emotional reunion with the Shabbani family of Kosovo, whom I met while Co-Managing the Stenkovec Refuge Camp in 1999. The family had suffered tragedy at the hands of Milosevic's forces. Great to see the new life they've made in the US.
“U.S. officials espouse Serbian autonomy as the holy grail for closing the Kosovo question. In reality, granting the association for Kosovo Serbs, without advancing recognition of Kosovo by Serbs & by the full NATO alliance, is a fraught proposition.”
Finally, by defaming me,
@avucic
revealed his character once again. ‘Nepristojan’ is a polite Serbian word for Vucic’s petulant behavior. Diplomats should respect the office of the Serbian President. The occupant? Not so much. 8/
For the record, this allegation is completely false.
@avucic
has no proof to back up his serious charges because such a relationship does not and has never existed. My views are the product of a dozen years on the ground – in all
#Balkans
conflicts, including the war years. 2/
Stunning move by PM Abazovic “has raised many questions" because Kentera’s work countering Russian spies “was highly valued in Western capitals” (EUSR Lajcak.) On 9/29, 6 Russian diplomats were expelled for spying, along with a few dozen others suspected of Russian espionage. 2/4
Instead of international pressure focused squarely on Belgrade – thanks to massive European Parliament majority vote on allegedly fraud-filled Serbian elections – Kurti is being hauled into the UN Security Council over another uncoordinated overreach (on Euro/Dinar.) 🧵1/6
2/ Is everyone aware
#Belgrade
is revising its own past in the
#Balkans
– and distorting present reality of Russia’s brutal invasion? That there is a straight line between Vucic’s denial of Racak and Belgrade’s promotion of Russian aggression in
#Ukraine
?
🧵Q: Who should replace Menendez as
@SFRCdems
Chair? A: That Senator who is willing to urgently challenge the Biden Administration’s dangerous illusions. Sunday’s “terrorist aggression” launched from Serbia to Kosovo could have seen US troops killed/wounded. 1/
Proud to stand with these Ukrainian scholars, Yevgeniya Gaber and Volodymir Dubovyk, at 2BS Montenegro.Thank you for considering my appeal for Ukraine to recognize Kosovo.
1/ In the rush to condemn US for condemning Kosovo’s action in north today, 1 question is overlooked: what if someone – Serb or Albanian – gets killed? I recall vividly in 2011, uncoordinated Pristina action in the north that left a Kosovar Special Police officer dead.
I first recommended NATO PfP for Kosovo in my
@ForeignPolicy
Article, 'Biden's Balkans Test Has Arrived', of June, 2021. The argument flowed from the argument about Serbian
#leverage
in my ‘Balkans Morass’ article, published by Wilson Center in May, 2021. 🧵
On 30 December, President
@avucic
forcefully alleged on Serbian TV that I am an Albanian agent, “getting lots of Albanian cash”, only a portion of which I report as income. 🧵 1/
Alleged blatant fraud in Serbian elections. But one voice is missing among those calling for investigation: Serbian protesters/hunger strikers/civil society; Council of Europe; EP members, joined now by leading US Senators. Chair
@SenatorShaheen
is “concerned by reports that
1/ By deliberately humiliating Deputy PM
@BislimiBesnik
– luring him within an hour of Belgrade (and his appearance here at the Security Conference) before turning him around –
@avucic
has created a no-lose scenario on the license plate imbroglio:
So much for the US theory that Vucic wants Dodik out: "An excellent discussion with Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik. Certainly, our last meeting before the December 17 elections. I thanked President Dodik for the exceptional cooperation in the past period and,
@USAmbSerbia
should immediately re-tweet Ambassador Hovenier’s statement. Hovenier was careful not to point fingers – only to insist that “the perpetrators … be brought to justice” for “these violent acts against the legitimate authorities of the Republic of Kosovo.” 2/
Breaking news - or breaking w/ current US Balkans policy-news? After sanctioning officials around the region, US finally sanctions a close associate of Serbian President Vucic: his virulent pro-Russian alter ego, Aleksandar Vulin, Mr. ‘Serb World’ himself.
So what was it that so stung
@avucic
& his Ambassador in Washington
@markodjuric
who also issued an attack on me? That I exposed Vucic’s continued manipulation of the US/EU? Was it the all-important leverage supplied by 4
#NATO
non-recognizers? Using Kosovo Serbs as pawns? 4/
Because the welfare of Kosovo Serbs is clearly the ‘top priority’ for
@avucic
, Belgrade should be celebrating breakthrough CoE vote & EU visa liberalization - instead of sabotaged elections in north of Kosovo. After all, Kosovo Serbs are the biggest beneficiary: 1/5 🧵
Extraordinary & wonderful news from Strasbourg!
With 33 votes in favour, 7 against and 5 abstentions,
@coe
Committee of Ministers accepted
#Kosova
’s membership application and initiated the accession process by requestin
@PACE_News
to prepare opinion on membership.
#KosovaInCoE
Sjedinjene Države pozdravljaju ponovljen stav Srbije i
@predsednikrs
o podršci teritorijalnom integritetu Ukrajine koji je narušen ilegalnim i ničim izazvanim napadima Rusije.
It's widely known that Srebrenica fell 29 years ago this month. Wholly overlooked is the heroism of this woman's husband, Colonel Avdo Palic, in neighboring Zepa. By holding out for another ten days Palic saved his soldiers and possibly altered the course of the war. Thank you
President Djukanovic will provide his analysis here tomorrow morning.
#Russian
hand,
#Serbian
hand, or internal political gambit, what is clear is that the stakes in
#Montenegro
’s upcoming local elections have climbed. Political direction of a
@NATO
ally in the balance. 4/4
Among the key questions US/EU officials are pondering: why would PM
#Abazovic
take this dubious step in such a high-profile setting, in front of diplomats, foreign military officers and media? 3/4
My policy advocacy on Kosovo puts the welfare of Kosovo Serbs – not the ‘compensation’ of Belgrade – at the center. Kosovo’s limbo status benefits Belgrade, not the Kosovo Serb community or Serbian patrimony in Kosovo, which are both crucial to preserve for regional stability. 3/
.
@HillaryClinton
addressed
#WPSRKS2024
:
"I vividly remember refugee camps in 🇲🇰 & listening to Kosovars telling me their tales of slaughter & forced exodus.
After Bill called NATO to end the bloody ethnic cleansing, we traveled to 🇽🇰 & met with women rebuilding their lives."
It was unwise because, since the highpoint of 2010 when the Serbian Parliament tacitly recognized the genocide committed in Srebrenica, Serbia has moved backwards on dealing with past … as its democracy has moved backwards. Revisionism is the essence of the Vucic regime. 2/
5/ Here’s the point: denial of the past is not a temporary stage for
#Vucic
or for
#Putin
. Its intent is to 'transform' the perpetrator into the victim. National grievance is what propels aggressive
#nationalism
, in the
#Balkans
, in
#Hungary
and in
#Russia
.
No one knows better than Chris Hill why diplomacy failed. A cynical Serbian dictator got power by abusing Kosovo, refusing to restore even a modest form of autonomy. Irony: today Belgrade demands a form of autonomy for Kosovo Serbs after extinguishing the same for Albanians. 9/
By suggesting that I am shilling for cash, Vucic also opens the door to questions about who
#Belgrade
& Banja Luka are paying for influence – and what policies/projects they are pushing - in
#Washington
. 7/
Speaking at SAIS, Madeline Albright once said that ‘what counts most in diplomacy is what’s said publicly.’ Voluble
@usambserbia
last tweeted 8 September &
@USEmbassySerbia
on 26 September. If you were President Vucic, what message would you take? 2/2
#US
/
#EU
are right to appeal for “maximum restraint”, but seriously mistaken to label
#barricades
a form of “peaceful protest.” Barricades are a menacing, unlawful restraint on movement, advancing a hostile agenda. US/EU should have simply said, “there are no arrest lists.” 2/
@SecBlinken
must insist on a uniform, principled, public US position in Belgrade & Pristina. Now and going forward. Containing this crisis – and stabilizing the Balkans – require it. 8/
6/ Belgrade’s destructiveness means US overreacted by threatening “consequences for the relationship” with Pristina. What are consequences for Serbia’s relationship with Russia? Vulin (& Dodik) in Moscow symbolize a Vucic policy far more damaging than reckless maneuver by Kurti.
3/ No. Accomplished
@nytimes
journalist
@ATHigginsNYT
downplays the Serbian government role in fostering adulation of
#Putin
, support for Russian invasion and Russian and Chinese
#authoritarianism
. Instead, we get more vox-pop ‘Balkan ghosts.’
4/ Who in
#Serbia
cites the abject differences between the 1999
#NATO
bombing & today’s Russian obscenities in
#Ukraine
? Who cites the similarities between Russian atrocities today & Serbian atrocities in the 1990s? Not main Serbian media. Narrative remains:‘we are the victims.’
Wonderful to be back in
#Kosovo
for this important conference on Women, Peace and Security. Great to see the press interest in WPS, a policy framework on which so much depends.
#WPSRKS2024
'Protesters' who attack
@NATO_KFOR
troops are not protesters. My take on the disgraceful violence in the north of
#Kosovo
. Who bears responsibility?
Thank you
@AJEnglish
for the interview.
#Balkans
As the European Council approaches – with key Conclusions for Serbia and Kosovo in the balance – Serbian FM Dacic continues to advance Kosovo’s demand that Belgrade actually sign all three EU/US backed proposals. 🧵1/4
8/ Here’s the point for US/EU officials:
#Bucha
has reduced Vucic’s maneuvering space – and yours. Vucic’s
#charade
of ‘balancing’ between
#Russia
and the
#EU
is finished – unless US/EU officials continue to indulge the Serbian autocrat.
In memoriam, Madeleine K. Albright. Not just the first woman Secretary of State. A visionary, determined Secretary of State who left a legacy of peace in the Balkans.