Last year, the US Republican who has been accused of being “Putin’s favourite Congressman”, Dana Rohrabacher, sent a letter to the president of Serbia asking the Serbian leadership to consider exchanging territories with Kosovo.
At that moment, it looked like a bad joke made by someone who did not understand the history and complexity of the Balkans.
Although Rohrabacher’s proposal was condemned by politicians across the region this controversial congressman made public what many in Belgrade (and possibly in Pristina) have in mind.
Today, Rohrabacher’s proposal is close to coming true. The stage for it has been nearly set, and new negotiations on ‘the Future of Kosovo’ look almost inevitable.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic wants a historic deal with Kosovo. His partner in the EU-mediated Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, President Hashim Thaci, is not so outspoken, but he has never completely rejected the idea of redrawing borders.
The draft statute of the Association of Serbian Municipalities, which will represent Serbs’ interest in Kosovo – a powerful political weapon in the hands of Belgrade, or “Pristina’s nightmare” as some call it – is likely to be complete by August.
Many are concerned that the negotiation on the long-awaited statute will serve as a prelude to the arrangement of a territorial exchange.
It’s not a surprise that president of Republika Sprska, Milorad Dodik, likes the plan, as he seeks a larger opportunity for himself.
President Donald Trump’s former campaign associates, Jason Osborne and Mike Rubine, have been recently hired as lobbyists for Dodik. Their task is to help Dodik build up, if possible, support in Washington for his plans to separate his ‘constituency’ from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It could be more feasible if the new Kosovo plan works out. The two of them helped set up meetings for Republika Srpska’s Prime Minister Zeljka Cvijanovic during her visit to Washington a few weeks ago, including meetings with Congressman Rohrabacher and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.
A territory swap between Kosovo and Serbia may not only reinvigorate the old dreams of Greater Serbia or Greater Albania, but also provoke a chain reaction across the region. Republika Srpska is just one of dozen regional trouble spots.
One doesn’t need to be a sage to understand that possible territorial trades are a road to lasting instability in the region and may produce disastrous consequences.
Burdened with a number of unresolved bilateral issues, scarred by the bloodshed of the 1990s and unwilling to deal with the ghosts of its past, the region can easily descend into another full-scale confrontation.
For more read the full of article at The Balkaninsight
