DISINFO: The West is trying to force Serbia to accept anti-Russian sanctions, fueling the conflict in Kosovo
SUMMARY
The European Union is deliberately fomenting a conflict in northern Kosovo in order to persuade Belgrade to adopt anti-Russian sanctions.
The European Union is doing everything necessary to put Serbia in the most difficult position, since Belgrade will not be able to respond to the provocations of the Kosovo authorities. At the same time, the West prefers to turn a blind eye to the violation of agreements by the unrecognized Republic of Kosovo. The EU and the collective West are doing everything necessary to make Serbia bow its head.
The actions of the European Union towards Serbia are comparable with the attitude of the collective West to the situation in Ukraine. The shelling of the territories of the DPR and LPR, which took place more than eight years ago, was also ignored by them for a long time. At the same time, the indignation of the West by Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure facilities followed immediately.
RESPONSE
Conspiracy theory and Whataboutism. Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative baselessly blaming the EU for a complicated situation that has been long brewing despite EU and US efforts to defuse tensions. The EU, a frequent target of pro-Kremlin disinformation, didn’t play any role in increasing those tensions.
Both Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti requested some action from NATO to address the latest crisis.
On the other hand, 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.”
Additionally, pro-Kremlin outlets exaggerate Serbia´s willingness to support Russia over the war in Ukraine. On 2 December 2022 Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said: "no one can bypass EU sanctions against Russia through Serbia. "We have reacted in cases of re-export of certain goods and our state bodies have detained people from companies that were involved in bypassing sanctions against the Russian Federation," Vucic said after meeting EU enlargement commissioner Oliver Varhelyi.
See also Russia’s interests in the Balkans, which perceives the EU as a strategic competitor in the region.
Parallel to Ukraine: the claim that "The actions of the European Union towards Serbia are comparable with the attitude of the collective West to the situation in Ukraine" is classic Kremlin whataboutism and an attempt to falsely legitimise Russia's unprovoked agression against Ukraine. See more about Russia-created conflict in Donbas since 2014. Key figure of the Russia's "hybrid", hidden war in Donbas is the convicted in absentia in the Hague Russian FSB officer Igor Girkin aka Strelkov. Interestingly enough, Girkin also participated in the war in Yugoslavia fighting in Bosnia on the Serbia's side.
See also more information on the full-scale Russia's invasion of Ukraine since 24 February 2022.
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.