vDefense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD) set off on a multi-day trip to the Balkans. A fragile peace has prevailed in the region since the secession and civil wars in the 1990s. Tensions continue to break out in Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and escalations cannot be ruled out. This applies both to the relationship between Kosovo and neighboring Serbia, as well as to the situation in the multi-ethnic state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which connects Muslim Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs. The European Union is trying to develop prospects for the Western Balkans region; the United States, after whose intervention the Bosnian war was ended with the Dayton Agreement, remains strongly committed.
On Monday, Pistorius first met Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani in Prishtina, later Prime Minister Albin Kurti and cabinet ministers of the former Yugoslav republic. Kurti, who had found sympathy in the West as a younger politician at the beginning of his term in office, is now viewed somewhat more critically; his rather offensive treatment of the small remaining Serb minority in the north of the country was recently criticized in Washington as well as in Brussels. Recently, the Kosovo government stopped the validity of the Serbian dinar in the north and decreed the euro as the sole means of payment.
This contradicts some efforts by the Serbian side, which recently recognized the validity of Kosovar license plates for driving in Serbia, a significant practical relief. Pistorius wanted to visit a military training project in the afternoon and later visit commanders and members of the international protection force KFOR, which has been stationed in Kosovo since the end of hostilities. Germany currently provides 70 of the approximately 3,400 KFOR soldiers in the country.
The international community has increased its military presence again
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, fears have grown that Moscow could use its influence to worsen the situation in the Western Balkans. This is actually the case in connection with the leadership of the “Republika Srpska”, which is threatening to leave the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina. In Sarajevo, the country's capital, Christian Schmidt (CSU) represents the international community as a “high representative”. The former Agriculture Minister and former Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense is endowed with extensive powers, but above all has to mediate diplomatically between the groups.
The international community has recently increased its military presence again as part of the EUFOR-ALTHEA mission, and the Bundeswehr is again represented with some soldiers in Bosnia-Herzegovina. In the small state with 3.2 million inhabitants, there are around 140 different ministries and higher authorities due to the various ethnic groups. After his visit to Sarajevo, Pistorius wants to travel to Belgrade for a short visit to meet Defense Minister Milos Vucevic and the recently re-elected Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Despite a certain proximity to Moscow, he would like to lead his country into the European Union in the medium term.
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