"Thaci's decision suicidal"

"Thaci's decision suicidal"

The President of Kosovo was personally invited by Edi Rama, but he flatly refused to come, saying, inter alia, that Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina did not recognize Kosovo and therefore did not wish "his country" well.

Is this a sign that the politics of Albania and Kosovo are diverging or is it just a farce, Sputnik wonders? Kosovo-Metohija political scientist Nedzmedin Spahiu has no dilemma that Kosovo and Albania's policies are going in opposite directions.

"The point is that Kosovo's leadership is acting childishly. Kosovo should not allow neighbouring countries to establish cooperation, with Kosovo staying outside. This means that Kosovo itself isolates Kosovo. This is contrary to the interests of Kosovo. We are a small country, and Kosovo's only wealth is good relations with its neighbours", Spahiu explains.

Deterioration of those relationships, he adds, is a suicide. "We should take every opportunity to improve them and improve relations with Serbia, not sit in a corner and watch others cooperate, while Kosovo remains aloof", Spahiu concludes.

His Serbian counterpart, political scientist Stefan Filipovic, has a completely different opinion: "Albania and Kosovo politics cannot and will not diverge because it is a long-term strategic direction. So, they may look at things differently, but they are going in the same direction".

He agrees with speculation that Edi Rama's communication with the authorities in Pristina is poor, especially since the formation of a new political elite in Pristina is underway, and that this also has implications for Thaci's rejection of Rama's invitation.

"So there is also personal miscommunication between politicians in Tirana and Pristina. It should be borne in mind that Hashim Thaci's tenure is nearing an end, and thus his legitimacy is slowly being cut short, so he tries to use the time he has left to show his patriotism", Filipovic believes.

Namely, Thaci told Rama that Serbia had committed genocide against the people of Kosovo, and that even today Serbia not only denies these crimes, but continues to refuse to acknowledge the existence of the state of Kosovo, and that this is one of the reasons they do not want to be part of this project.