On the one-year anniversary of the Banja Luka attack, former NATO spokesman during the Kosovo war, Jamie Shea, expressed his disappointment to the Serbian state, which has not taken action against those implicated in the case. According to him, Serbia will use this case as a pretext to delay the proceedings. In an interview with RTKlive, Shea says that the north of Kosovo needs a period of calm and implementation of the agreements reached in Brussels and Ohrid.
Shea, a former NATO spokesman during the Kosovo war, said the failure to hand over those implicated in the Banjska case would clearly be used by Serbia as a pretext to delay proceedings.
Shea in an interview with RTKlive that international pressure should be maintained on Belgrade to fully cooperate in the Banjska investigation and dismantle the training and equipment structures. According to him, the evidence now produced by the work of the Kosovo police and judiciary provides a basis on which more pressure can be exerted on Serbia.
According to him, the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue should resume soon. “So I expect the EU measures against Kosovo to be lifted later this autumn provided that there is a period of calm in the North and that Pristina makes efforts to reintegrate Serbs into the police, judiciary and local administration. Vucic has called for this to happen and it will be a test for him to work constructively to help implement it,” the former senior NATO official said. For the north of Kosovo, Shea said that there is a need for a period of calm to create 4 municipal authorities and multiethnic police, judiciary and Public Administration and work should be done on the implementation of many normalization steps as agreed between Belgrade and Pristina in Ohrid last year.
On the US elections and the possibility that they will affect Kosovo, She does not believe that the US will be any less engaged, no matter who wins in the US.
He also talked about the purchase of planes that Serbia has bought from France. According to him, it is better for Serbia to buy French and European military equipment, rather than Russian or Chinese weapons.
Asked how Russia, through its ally Serbia, aims to destabilize the region and minimize its role in the Balkans, Shea said the best way to minimize Moscow’s malign influence is to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
RTKlive: a year has passed since the terrorist attack in northern Kosovo and there are still no measures and penalties against Serbia, how do you assess this?
Shea: it is disappointing that Serbia has not yet taken action against those implicated in last year’s Banjska attack. The Serbian government has asked Pristina for information and evidence that has so far not been submitted to it. So this will clearly be used by Serbia as a pretext to delay the proceedings. On the other hand, last week, the judiciary in Pristina published an indictment against 45 people involved in the Banjska attack. These indictments are based on one year of Investigation and evidence collection, so this material should be used by Belgrade to arrest the individuals concerned and also by other countries to put these individuals on a list of arrest warrants for travel ban and arrest. International pressure must be maintained on Belgrade to fully co-operate in the Banjska investigation and dismantle the training and equipment structures behind it.
RTKlive: Serbia is not handing over those who ordered and participated in the terrorist attack in Banjska in September 2023?
Shea: but the evidence now produced by the work of the Kosovo police and judiciary provides a solid basis on which more pressure can be exerted on Serbia.
RTKlive: what are your thoughts on the latest developments in the north of Kosovo?
Shea: we need a period of calm to create 4 municipal authorities and multiethnic police, judiciary and public administration. We do not need unilateral and uncoordinated steps by either side, but rather the implementation of the many normalization steps agreed between Belgrade and Pristina at Lake Ohrid last year. Both sides must keep their commitments. Solving the issue of license plates shows that cooperation is possible with good communication and tactful diplomacy. Close coordination between the Government of Kosovo and KFOR and Kosovo’s Western partners is essential to ensure that we continue in a gradual, step-by-step manner to increase the trust of the serb community in the North and to combat disinformation and interference.
RTKlive. Although Kosovo, as a state against which Serbia committed aggression, the European Union is not lifting the previously imposed measures, is it time for them to leave?
Shea: Prime Minister Kurti is in Brussels this week who can certainly lobby for the EU measures to be lifted. He has followed the EU’s advice not to reopen the Mitrovica bridge to traffic. But the new EU leadership has yet to take office after the EU Parliament elections last June. The new commission was appointed only today. The Belgrade-Pristina dialogue should resume soon. So I expect EU measures against Kosovo to be lifted later this autumn provided that there is a period of calm in the North and that Pristina makes efforts to reintegrate Serbs into the police, judiciary and local administration. Vucic has called for this to happen and it will be a test for him to work constructively to help implement it.
RTKlive: Serbia has made an agreement for the purchase of aircraft from France, how dangerous is Serbia’s weapons for the region?
Shea: It is better for Serbia to buy French (and European) military equipment than Russian or Chinese weapons. At the very least, this agreement will help to connect Belgrade more strategically with the West, which should be the objective for overall peace and stability in the Western Balkans. Serbia has also signed an agreement with Germany on lithium supplies. We should hope that this marks a decision by Vucic to connect with Serbia’s European neighbors and pursue more energetically his country’s EU integration.
RTKlive: Russia through its ally Serbia aims to destabilize the region, how to minimize Russia’s role in the Balkans?
Shea: the best way to minimize Moscow’s malign influence is to normalize relations between Belgrade and Pristina and strongly react to Milorad Dodik’s attempts in Bosnia to undermine the Constitution and the Bosnian state. Russia thrives on disputes and tensions that its propaganda can exploit, playing one side against the other. So resolving disputes and giving all countries in the region a clear European and transatlantic perspective is the best way to reduce Moscow’s capacity to harm us. We can also help countries in the region to be more resilient to cyber attacks, disinformation campaigns and sabotage or aggressive intelligence operations.
RTKlive: now the elections in the US are approaching, how much can they have an impact on the Balkan region, but also the developments in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue?
Shea: the previous Trump administration has also worked to improve relations between Belgrade and Pristina. Trump even hosted a summit at the White House and appointed a special envoy to the region. Trump prides himself on his ability to act as a peacemaker. So if he wins in the US in November, I expect him to remain engaged with Kosovo. If Harris wins, I expect the Biden administration’s support for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and for supporting Kosovo’s security and eventual transatlantic integration will continue. I don’t think the U.S. will be any less involved.
