Kosovo opposes Russian mediation in dialogue with Belgrade

The Speaker of the Parliament of Kosovo, Viosa Osmani, said on 18 May that the transfer of negotiations to the Troika format, that is, Russia's return to the role of mediator in the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, would be a step backwards. According to Albanian news agency Telegrafi, this statement was made by Osmani immediately after the completion of the Presidium of the Parliament of Kosovo. We do not consider it necessary or useful for Russia to participate in this process, Osmani said, recalling that in 2010 the UN General Assembly rejected the format of the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia with the participation of Russia. According to Osmani, a return to such a format would be a step backwards in the political and technical sense, as Russia's only goal is to destabilize the region. The Kosovo politician stressed that the current Serbia is only externally oriented to Europe, but its mind, heart and actions are coordinated with Russia, and called on the EU to seriously consider Serbia's purchase of weapons from the Russian Federation. Osmani's negative attitude towards Russian participation in the negotiations is not convincing, as Russia insists that the Kosovo issue should be resolved on the basis of UNSC Resolution 1244, according to which Kosovo remains part of Serbia. Surprisingly, back in February 2020, Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti advocated Russian (as well as Chinese) involvement in negotiations to resolve the Kosovo issue. However, Osmani and Kurti, though political allies, still belong to different parties. And with increasing pressure from the US-oriented traditional political forces in Kosovo, there is little chance of realizing Courty's good aspirations.