DISINFO: NATO escalated the situation in Kosovo to distract Russia from Ukraine
SUMMARY
NATO uses Kosovo in a proxy war against Serbia. The US initiated a ‘soft genocide’ of the Serbs as the autonomous population of Kosovo. The elimination of Indians and other Aborigines is in the Americans’ genetic code. Furthermore, Atlanticists consider Belgrade as Russia’s Trojan horse in Europe and aim at eroding Serbia’s sovereignty to the level of controlled Balkan limitrophes such as Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, and Croatia.
An escalation in Kosovo is linked to Russia’s military successes in Ukraine. Atlanticists aim at provoking Serbia to start military actions for the protection of Kosovo’s Serbians. They wish to force Russia to back Serbs and interfere in the conflict – and to undermine a large-scale Russian winter offensive in Ukraine. Endless provocations and wars are classic for the Pentagon and NATO in all parts of the world.
RESPONSE
This publication baselessly accuses the US and NATO of waging a war against Serbia and a ‘soft genocide’ of the Serbian population in Kosovo, and generally for a complicated situation that has been long brewing despite EU and US efforts to defuse tensions. NATO, a frequent target of pro-Kremlin disinformation, didn’t play any role in increasing those tensions. In fact, both Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti requested some action from NATO to play some role to address the crisis.
The spark that ignited recent tension between Kosovo and Serbia in 2022 was that Kosovo's government wanted those who live in Serb areas to change their Serbian-issued car number plates for Kosovan-issued ones. About 50,000 people refused to change their car number plates and it increased tension between the Serbian and Kosovo government. Under the facilitation of the EU, Serbia and Kosovo agreed on measures to avoid further escalation.
The publication in question promotes a conspiracy linking the ongoing events in Kosovo with Russia’s war against Ukraine. It also uses the ‘lost sovereignty’ narrative, one of the five major recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives, to discredit Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, and Croatia – sovereign European countries.
See also Russia’s interests in the Balkans, which perceives the EU as a strategic competitor in the region. Russian officials, media and Telegram channels have been trying for a long time to inflame tensions around Kosovo and the Western Balkans. On 15 November 2022, Russia launched its new online channel RT Balkan in Serbian language, which RT head Margarita Simonyan presented with the words: “Because Serbia is Kosovo”. According to a recent report by the European Council on Foreign Relations, "[the Russian media's] aim is mainly to attack the legitimacy of Kosovo’s statehood, but also to fuel ethnic tensions by portraying the Serb community in Kosovo as victims of an abusive central government.”
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that the EU wants to expand its imperialism in the Balkans, that the West has promoted separatism in Yugoslavia, that Pristina is entirely responsible for the tension in Northern Kosovo, or that the West showed double standards with its treatment of Kosovo and Crimea.