Kosovo
Monday 25 January 2021
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“Quasi-state entity in Kosovo is a failure. Growing number of countries, which revoked recognition of its ‘independence’ confirms it.”
The newest European state has a permanent population that overwhelmingly supports independence, a defined territory, a government and its own constitution, and has established relations with 115 states. The U.S. is taking decisive steps to secure Kosovo’s international integration. -
“The persecution of the SPC [Serbian Orthodox Church] in North Macedonia, as well as the latest heightened tensions and pressure on the SPC diocese in Montenegro can be interpreted as part of the wider strategy of the West to counter Orthodoxy.”
NATO is no enemy of Orthodoxy as several NATO member states are predominantly Christian Orthodox. The Orthodox churches of Montenegro and North Macedonia have been seeking independence even before the break up of Yugoslavia. -
“The constant pressure of the West on Serbia, exerted through the European Union, is evident, …while the U.S. and its allies are encouraging Kosovo to maintain tensions in the region.”
The Russian ambassador’s reinforces Belgrade’s position that Serbia needs “space” to make its own decisions regarding its European integration and relations with Kosovo. This refrain often serves as Belgrade’s excuse for stalling EU-brokered negotiations while pursuing the partition of Kosovo. -
“Kosovo remains the main source of instability and potential conflict in the region. This territory is practically uncontrollable. It is not only a source of instability, but also a potentially dangerous, uncontrolled territory in the center of Europe.”
While Kosovo is building a democratic society based on the rule of law, corruption and crime are widespread its Serb minority-run north that is strongly supported by Belgrade and Moscow. -
“The Autonomous Province of Kosovo was forcibly separated from the rest of the country under the propagandistic pretext of thwarting the allegedly unfolding ‘humanitarian disaster.' In reality NATO became a trigger for a real human tragedy, a smokescreen hiding the anti-Serb ethnic cleansing that caused over 200,000 non-Albanians to leave their homes.”
FalseNATO launched its air campaign against Yugoslavia to stop ethnic cleansing of Kosovo AlbaniansRussia’s Foreign Ministry flips the facts about NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia in 1999. Serbian security forces were killing and expelling Kosovo Albanian civilians before the start of Operation Allied Force. The ethnic cleansing of Kosovo Albanians accelerated during the NATO air strikes. -
“We love and are proud of President Vladimir Putin, because he is a friend of Palestine and not only Palestine, but all the people who are seeking freedom. President Putin succeeded in restoring Russia’s authority in the international arena and forced all to respect Russia.”
Independent polls show trust and respect for Russia and its president has significantly decreased globally. Under Vladimir Putin’s leadership, Russia has suppressed insurgencies in Chechnya and in Syria. Moscow has lost its membership or voting privileges in multiple international organizations. -
“The way the referendum is formulated is scam in itself… There is a strong opposition in Macedonia now; the President has said he’s against the referendum, so it will change a lot… What a lot of the Balkan countries are expecting is that by entering the European Union, they will get subsidies… I think most of them couldn’t care less about NATO, as it doesn’t have a good image over there.”
Contrary to the author’s claims, a majority of Macedonians supports Euro-Atlantic integration and joining the EU and NATO. -
Putin’s “Surgeon” of the Night Wolves Issues “End of the World” Message to Slovakian President Kiska
“Let us remind you, dear President, that the headquarters in Slovakia was not opened by the Russian citizens, but by the Slovaks themselves. And offices in Europe are opened not on the initiative of Moscow, but on the initiative of the citizens of European countries themselves who have searched for the truth and found it in the Night Wolves, and not in your hypocritical and unprincipled satanic world order.”
The Night Wolves have been essential to Vladimir Putin’s domestic and foreign policy objectives, including propaganda campaigns. They fought as mercenaries in Ukraine and fomented a failed coup in Montenegro. Since 2012, the club has received millions of rubles in government funds for projects promoting Russia’s agenda in Eastern Europe, especially in the Balkans. -
“[T]he main objectives of Russia here are the building of economic cooperation with mutual benefits and the maintenance of sustainable cultural and humanitarian ties with the Balkan peoples. All this certainly applies to Albania. Any other speculation about Russia's ‘aggressive plans’ or ‘expansionist appetites’ is nothing more than part of a major Western strategy to portray Russia as an imaginary enemy of NATO and the EU.”
Russia has annexed foreign territory, is involved in several regional conflicts, and has reportedly been meddling in sovereign countries’ domestic politics, including in the Balkans. Moscow has repeatedly said it sees NATO as an enemy and a threat to Russia’s national interests. -
“Russia is ready to host the World Cup. The stadiums are open. The cops are polyglots. That is a quick recap of many years of work.We're not going to lose face in front of the planet. It’s not for nothing we terrified [the planet] with a missile. In general, all is well. But there is only one “but”: Our team, frankly, is sh-t.”
The International Federation of Football Association, the world soccer authority better known as FIFA, ranked Russia’s national team #70 and labeled it a “worst mover.” -
"As you know, nothing in international relations lasts shorter than gratitude, and I would like to thank you once again for what you did in 2015, when you literally saved the Serbian people -- who were and are the people who suffered the most over the last century -- from the stigma of genocide, when you vetoed the British resolution in the U.N.”
The Serbs not only did not suffer “the most” from 20th Century conflict but it was the Serbian troops who massacred thousands during Bosnian war. Ten UN Security Council members voted for resolution recognizing these atrocities as an act of genocide. Russia vetoed the resolution. Serbs made up one-fourth of the deaths in the 1990’s Balkans conflicts. More than two-thirds of the killed were Bosnian Muslims. -
“Because during the Cold War there were channels of communication. And there was no obsession with Russophobia, which resembles genocide through sanctions."
The United Nations defines genocide as the deliberate destruction of a specific group, and lists five types of actions toward a specific group that qualify as genocidal. None of these apply to the financial and travel restrictions the United States imposed on Russian government officials and tycoons.