Re <<my take is that the unrest there is a Russian provocation to deflect the attention from Ukraine.
Serbia historically was allied with Russia and the region is a old "hotspot" since before WWI>>
... as of now I am ONLY watching, and have no take.
Visually can only be certain of a few items, and as to whatever might be behind the many curtains, have no idea as yet. It sort of depends on which parties are playing chess at what dimensional counts.
We can be certain, by ocular inspection, that Serbs are protesting unilateral change, Albanians are trying for unilateral change, Nato is failing to keep peace, and folks are getting hurt on all sides albeit at different rates.
Unclear what a wider and more intense conflict would lead to, and which side(s) might benefit, and for how long. It is not as if any outsiders have the bandwidth (military aid, munitions, soldiers, political capital, etc etc) to deal with a worsening situation.
As to the Serbian military, it is equipped with gadgets from many sides in some balanced way.
zerohedge.com
US Kicks Kosovo Out Of Military Drills For Anti-Serb Escalation
Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,
The US ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, announced Tuesday that Washington was kicking Pristina out of the US-led Defender Europe military exercises over its treatment of the ethnic Serb population of northern Kosovo.
The move was a punishment for Kosovo trying to forcibly install ethnic Albanian mayors in three Serb-majority towns. The mayors won office in elections that were boycotted by the Serbs, who have never accepted Kosovo’s independence from Serbia, which was formally declared in 2008.
Via The Telegraph
When Kosovo police used force against Serb protesters on May 26, Secretary of State Antony Blinken slammed the move and blamed Pristina for the tensions, a rare rebuke from the US, one of the staunchest supporters of Kosovo’s independence. Blinken said Kosovo’s actions "will have consequences for our bilateral relations with Kosovo."
Hovenier said suspending Kosovo from the Defender Europe exercises was one consequence and signaled other action might be taken. "For Kosovo, those exercises are over," he said.
"We have asked [Kosovar Prime Minister Albin] Kurti to take steps toward reducing tensions in the north. He has not responded to these requestsand we are analyzing what our other actions will be," Hovenier said.
The US wants Kosovo’s government not to insist the mayors work from the municipal buildings that have been blocked by protesters and for police to withdraw from the buildings in the three northern towns.
NATO troops got involved in the stand-off on Monday and moved to disperse Serb protesters. The ensuing violence injured 52 Serb protesters and 30 members of NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) mission. In response, NATO is sending 700 more troops to Kosovo. |
