If Kosovo was the nadir of Russian weakness, in the invasion of Ukraine, we are now witnessing its inversion. The day the campaign started, Yevgeny Primakov, the Russian Prime Minister at the time, was on his way to the U.S., hoping to win I.M.F. An artist captures the fight for airspace over Kyiv. Shaky video footage from the outskirts of Ukrainian cities provides snapshots of a chaotic scene: blankets strewn across hard bunker floors, expletive-laden declarations of epic heroism, childrens hysterical cries. Primakov had his plane turned around over the Atlantic and returned to Moscow. Since then, the West has taken drastic action, leveling sanctions against Russias Central Bank, removing most Russian banks from SWIFT, and offering Ukraine arms for its defense. The Kremlin has long indulged and incited the collective national trauma of the collapse of the Soviet Union to present itself as the avenger of past humiliations. Ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo declared independence from Belgrade in 2008. In The Impossible Country, a wonderful 1994 book about the disintegration of Yugoslavia, the writer Brian Hall describes people who kept asking each other, Can you believe this is happening? War of humanitarian intervention is such a bizarre term that it can be used to justify any kind of aggression, he said.) Editors Note: Some links in this article may appear broken due to cyberattacks on Russian websites. Even at the time, contemporary Western and Russian media depicted very different images of the war in Kosovo. Russias understanding of the 78-day NATO war against Serbia is quite different from that of many Western countries, which see it as a humanitarian intervention that prevented, or was even a response to, genocide. At the start of February, a letter from Russias foreign ministry making a range of security demands caused a stir in parliament when ex-prime minister and president Sali Berisha called Russia a force of evil and accused them of trying to destroy NATO. I checked with Lawrence Douglas, a professor at Amherst College who has written extensively on law and war. The VW Bus Took the Sixties on the Road. Historically, ties between Russia and Montenegro were strong, and in 1905, Podgorica declared war on Tokyo during the Russia Japan war. 1999 - 2022 | Efficacit et Transparence des Acteurs Europens. In Europe? This view has become more entrenched over the last 23 years, with Putin depicting the war as an illegal and illegitimate act by NATO that deliberately humiliated Russia.

History has long been Putins war language, his way of analogizing and justifying Russias modern-day aggressions within past glories and humiliations. At Valdai in 2017, the Russian president bemoaned how the West treated post-Soviet Russia, spurning its openness and trust as it completely ignored our national interests for example in the bombing of Yugoslavia and Belgrade, sending troops to Iraq, and so on. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Both the Ukrainian and Russian governments keep downplaying the probability of war and reprimanding journalists for fanning the fear. It also signaled a premature readiness to risk conflagration for the sake of national pride, with NATO and Russian forces avoiding confrontation thanks only to the de-escalatory intervention of a British general. Scholz said NATO had acted to prevent genocide, a reference to the persecution of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. Furthermore, on Thursday, President Stevo Pendarovski strongly condemned Russias invasion. InSkopje, the government has already announced it is ready to take in Ukrainian refugees if necessary. Ad Choices. Thus ended the era of coperation and aspirational friendship between Russia and the U.S. that had begun after the Cold War. President of the Republic of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani-Sadriu speaks while meeting with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada November 23, 2021. There was no way Carla Del Ponte was going to bring charges against the very nations that were funding the I.C.T.Y., Douglas said. A paper published in Parameters, the quarterly publication of the U.S. Army War College, in 2000 proposed a sort of natural law justification for the war; a memo submitted to the British Parliament by a law professor at the London School of Economics argued, in effect, that the war was legitimate even in the absence of Security Council approval. Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the worlds largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Serb residents hold a poster portraiting Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin during a ceremony marking a historic battle at Gazimestan, near Pristina on June 28, 2009. But accusations from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov changed that when he accused Albania, along with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, of sending mercenaries to fight in Ukraine. In the first 24 hours following the invasion, the Western reaction was underwhelming. It is difficult to accept that even the Kremlin believes its propaganda that Ukraines Jewish president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is a Nazi.

Since the late 50s and early 60s,Albaniahas had a somewhat cool relationship with Russia after relations broke down during the communist regime, and the Russian embassy in Tirana limits its activities to education and cultural exchanges. And it is clear why: They looked at the state of our nuclear complex, our Armed Forces, our economy. While pro-EU in many ways, some leaders will be cautious not to rock the boat. Comments are closed automatically seven days after articles are published. That May, President Boris Yeltsin presided over the military parade in Red Square, a spectacle that had had a drastically lower profile since the collapse of the Soviet Union. It is a prudent and proportionate measure which reflects the EUs and EUFORs unequivocal commitment to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina, EUFORstated. On Tuesday, the Russian parliament approved a resolution to ask Putin to recognize the statehood of the separatist regions in eastern Ukraine, a move that would make their status similar to that of Kosovo after the bombing campaign. Jade McGlynn is an academic at the Monterey Initiative in Russian Studies specializing in Russian memory politics and the author of the forthcoming book The Kremlins Memory Makers. Dodik, in turn is waiting for Serbian President Aleksandar Vuic. Putin uses supposed Western hypocrisy to excuse his own disregard for international law. While leaders stopped short of passing a parliamentary resolution, 30 troops were sent to Kosovo on Friday. The Russian presidents visit to Serbia was a lovefestbut beyond the odes to Orthodox brotherhood, the two authoritarian leaders are using one another to advance a geopolitical agenda. Why do so many Russians say they support the war? Presidents and Prime Ministers are clamoring to speak to PutinEmmanuel Macron flew to Moscow and sat with Putin for five hours; Biden asked Putin for a phone call on Saturday instead of the one they had scheduled for Monday; Scholz followed on Tuesdayand every conversation seems to reinforce the point that there is nothing anyone can do to stop him. Debt-laden Italy finds itself in markets' crosshairs again, as a collapse in its national unity government coincides with the European Central Bank preparing to deliver its first interest rate rise in 11 years. With ports cut off, the world is going hungry. Albania is not home to any openly pro-Russian political groups. If you look at the most popular history portal on the Russian internet, which is Kremlin-funded, you will read that the crisis in Kosovo was not caused by the Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic deliberately stirring up nationalist tensions or ethnic cleansing of Kosovar Albanians and others. Instead, according to this site, it was caused by the United States, with the support of NATO and some European Union countries, which were exploiting Russias post-Soviet weakness and destroying its longtime ally, Serbia. In the early hours of Feb. 24, the Kremlin launched a new full-scale war in the heart of Europe. Sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from The New Yorker. Twitter:@DrJadeMcGlynn. Yet some scholars have argued that the Kosovo air war was legal. Absent such measures, they would prove Putins historical analogy to be at least partly correct, with the Wests moral weakness now matching Russias economic and political weakness during the war in Kosovo. Although Russias 2021 National Security Strategy detailed at length the Kremlins belief that the United States and the wider West are decadent powersself-indulgent and in moral and cultural declineit was not entirely clear until the invasion that Putin was so confident of Western cowardice he would act this brazenly. Bosniaks are on the side of Ukraine, resulting from the actions of Russian ambassadors in Sarajevo who strongly support Serbs in BiH. Russian outages and record-high prices threaten a winter of discontent.. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and President Milo ukanovi meanwhile, resolutely condemned Russian aggression. Then international law looked unnecessary.. A top Russia advisor to three U.S. presidents explains why the world shouldnt fall for Moscows narrative that it can wait out the West in Ukraine. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. [It is nothing compared to] what you did in Yugoslavia.. This interpretation regards Yugoslavia as the pivotal point in the degradation of Russias relations with the Westas the place, in Putins words, where it all began. At the Security Council meeting on Feb. 21, Lavrov cited NATO support for Kosovo then as a reason to disregard Western criticisms of Russia now. The Ministry of Defence also announced that participation in a possible NATO mission is considered. Before this week, there was little concern that Albania could be dragged into the mess. This was not only about providing precedent but also about sending a message: If the West can redraw borders for Kosovo, then we can redraw borders for the Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples Republics in eastern Ukraine. Life Lessons from Laura Wasser, Divorce Lawyer to the Stars. The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals. Nearly 500 new personnel will be deployed in BiH over the next two weeks from Austria, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia. Then, over the weekend, the United States pulled its military trainers from Ukraine and directed U.S. citizens to leave the country; on Monday, it moved its embassy operations from Kyiv to Lviv. The default username below has been generated using the first name and last initial on your FP subscriber account. Why Putin Keeps Talking About Kosovo Exit asked the Russian embassy in Tirana on what basis the claims were made. Before the bombing campaign had ended, Louise Arbour, then the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (I.C.T.Y. They will join the current 600 EUFOR personnel stationed in BiH since 2014. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. PRISTINA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Kosovo's president accused Russia on Thursday of using its traditional ally Serbia to "destabilise" the Balkans, as Moscow faces off against the West in the Ukraine crisis. Then they evacuated nonessential personnel. The Russian governments lies that its current violence against the Ukrainian people is actually just a special operation to de-Nazify Ukraine simply extends the pro-Kremlin argument that Nazis came to power in Kyiv after the Euromaidan revolution of 2013-2014. The ceremony marked the anniversary of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo, where the Serbian army was defeated by the Ottoman Empire. During a press conference that followed Putins talks with Germanys Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, a German journalist asked Putin, Will there be a war in Europe? In the face of such horror, it is natural to ascribe these crimes to a madman, to a leader entirely divorced from reality. (I am not alone in hearing that phrase as oxymoronic. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. Mickoski sees himself as the new prime minister, but this will require him to decide on which side to back. REUTERS/Patrick Doyle. He painted the NATO bombing, and later U.S. support for the Bulldozer Revolution that overthrew Milosevic, as a precursor of Ukraines Euromaidanframing Yugoslavia as the first color revolution. . Usernames may be updated at any time and must not contain inappropriate or offensive language. Once, it sparked dreams of community and counterculture. Bosnias Serb leader Milorad Dodik has been working to form an independent state, supported by Serbia and Russia.

Kosovo remains staunchly pro-Ukraine and has pledged full solidarity with Kyiv. In Russian, the verb zerkalit means to imitate or copy someone, as in a mirror, and it describes how the Kremlin wants to depict its war against Ukraine.

Drawing on the EURACTIV Network, we took a look at what war in Ukraine means for the Western Balkans and how Serbias stance could impact the fragility of regional peace. They also self-consciously mirror the justifications given by NATO leaders for bombing Yugoslavia more than two decades ago. Furthermore, on Thursday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who he is close to, announced that while he backs Ukraine, he does not want to get dragged into the conflict. For a more explanatory narrative, one that exhibits some form of logic in the Kremlins thinking, it is more helpful to examine another much-used historical analogy for Russias war on Ukraine: Kosovo and the 1999 NATO bombing of then-Yugoslavia (todays Serbia and Montenegro). In so doing, he uses supposed Western hypocrisy to excuse his own disregard for international law, rendering it a matter of principle, parity, and pride that Russia should also be able to ignore the rules. ), appointed a group to investigate allegations of war crimes committed by the NATO allies. The Taliban Detained Me for Doing My Job. Western accounts place little emphasis on the lack of United Nations Security Council approval for the strikes or on the loss of civilian lives. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. The seventy-eight-day air war over Kosovo and Serbia was unprecedented in several ways. By Alice Taylor and Zeljko Trkanjec | EURACTIV.hr and exit.al, Drawing on the EURACTIV network, we took a look at what war in Ukraine means for the Western Balkans and how Serbias stance could impact the fragility of regional peace. The Dutch airline KLM discontinued flights to Kyiv. read more. Authorities have been clear that they condemn Russias actions and that if NATO decides, they will become involved in military conflict. The reason for this is its proximity and the decades-long conflict with pro-Russian Serbia. InPodgorica,even technical Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapi called on Russia to return to diplomacy, and he was elected on the list of pro-Serbian party Democratic Front (DF). Serbia does not recognise Kosovo as an independent country and there are concerns that the war in Ukraine could empower Serbia to move in on northern areas of the country, predominantly inhabited by ethnic Serbs. (So are most Ukrainians, but that no longer seems to matter.) At talks in the Kremlin this week with Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Russian President Vladimir Putin cited NATO's bombing of Serb forces during the Kosovo crisis in 1999 as an example of what he said was the alliance's aggressive behaviour. Uber Files gives new impetus to discussions on platform workers directive, Canada to return Nord Stream 1 turbine to Germany in blow to Ukraine, Ukraine's richest man agrees to hand over media empire, Rome fires mount pressure to diffuse ecological bomb, Shell on cusp of Albanian discovery that could change Europes energy future, Rama says, Russia shuts down terminal after Kazakhstan offers to send more oil to the EU, Germany hotspot for hosting child porn as Berlin wrestles with Commission over privacy, Italys COVID surge is real reason for concern, says health foundation, Ukraine cries foul as Canada sends Nord Stream 1 turbine to Germany, Lavrov storms out of G20 talks as West presses Moscow on Ukraine, Terminal: inside Europes summer airport chaos, War with Russia and what it means for the Western Balkans. You spoke about Crimea. The European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR) will nearly double its military personnel in the country over the risk of instability following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While he may be somewhat anti-NATO, if he is ever prime minister, he still has to show his face at NATO meetings and in Europe, for that matter. Laws apply to them but not to us is not the way a legal regime works. Seen through the prism of Kosovo and Russian grievances, an invasion that at first seemed entirely irrational begins to make more sense. Bosnia and Herzegovina has been under theSerb entitys threatof dissolution for years. Please follow our comment guidelines, stay on topic, and be civil, courteous, and respectful of others beliefs. Luxury ships attract outrage and political scrutiny. On Thursday, one of the former pro-Orbn and pro-Putin members of Sabor initiated a resolution supporting Ukraine. Commenting on this and other recent articles is just one benefit of a Foreign Policy subscription. While there is an element of trolling to these comparisons, such statements are not just whataboutism. On the one hand, the mediaWestern media in particularbring daily bulletins of the buildup of Russian troops near the borders of Ukraine, and of intelligence warnings that a large-scale invasion is a real threat, and possibly imminent. For now, the main fear is that as a US, EU, and NATO ally in a strategic position, already caught in the crosshairs of Moscow, Albania could be dragged into a regional or international conflict that it cannot afford to be a part of. The only real pro-Russian sentiment comes from ethnic Serb and pro-Serbia parties, who de facto support the Moscow regime. What is interesting in Macedonian politics is the problematic position of the opposition party, VMRO-DPMNE and its leader Hristijan Mickoski. This address followed on from the stage-managed spectacle of a Security Council meeting where ministers were invited to pledge their support for recognizing the two republics independence. Everyone understands that the war would be both bloody and senselesssurely Russia doesnt really want to occupy one of the poorest countries in Europe, inhabited by forty-four million people, most of whom have come to hate Russia. Another EU candidate country and a recent member of NATO, Macedonians, are overall on the side of Ukraine. It was undertaken without the sanction of the U.N. Security Council.

One evening over dinner, Gumenyuk said, Its impossible to imagine air raids in Kyiv. Before I could catch myself, I blurted out, Like it was once impossible to imagine air raids of Belgrade. I was referring to the NATO bombing campaign of Yugoslavia, which I covered on the ground; I was in Belgrade when the first bomb fell on the city and the unimaginable became real. The United States did it unilaterally. In their speeches, the chairwoman of the Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, and the foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, also invoked the NATO bombing as justification and precedent for Russias moves to protect the population of the Donbass from a fictitious genocide. It applies only to the weak.. | View Comments ().

Kremlin analogies comparing eastern Ukraine to Kosovo illustrate that the Russian governments aim in attacking Ukraine is to reinstate the Cold War security architecture, so that the West no longer has the exclusive power to redraw borders and change regimes. Ruzavin was in grade school at the time, but he understood. However, this scenario had the wind taken out of its sails on Monday when Putin declared unilateral recognition of the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. Russia did not have a direct stake in Kosovo, aside from a vague, sentimental idea of affinity with the Serbs because they are, like Russians, Eastern Orthodox. In chasing that goal, Russia has already exceeded NATO actions in Yugoslavia. (Required). Three hours later, Gore called back to say that the strikes were inevitable and Russia didnt have a say in the matter. Crimeans, Abkhazians, and South Ossetians. His rise was not determined by the Kosovo air war, but he rode the wave of resurgent nationalism during it and has consistently drawn from a reservoir of resentment that was deepened by the war. What about Crimea? "Russia has a big interest not only in stopping Ukraine from joining NATO but also in preventing the western Balkans, including Kosovo, from joining the EU and NATO," said Vllahiu, a former ambassador of Kosovo to the Czech Republic.

The government in Zagreb, as expected, is on the Ukrainian side and like in Albania, small protests took place in front of the Russian embassy. You do your best not to stare.. Arber Vllahiu, an independent political analyst, drew a parallel between Moscow's stance on Ukraine and the Balkans. Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. Montenegro is, however, in the midst of a political crisis, and the situation is far from stable. Russian President Vladimir Putins historically unhinged pre-invasion speech, in which he premised his desire to resurrect the Soviet Union on the claim that Vladimir Lenin invented Ukraine, does little to contradict that assessmentat least at first glance. However, it is hard to see how this will make much difference if these countries do not show Putin they are willing to implement measures that come at real cost to their own economic interests, including a Marshall Plan and the seizure of Kremlin-linked assets and their transfer to the Ukrainian resistance. In his view, it seems, NATO fabricated a fake genocide in Kosovo to legitimize its intervention; now he was just doing the same. Expand your perspective with unlimited access to FP. And in peacetimeeven in fragile, relative peacetimeits always hard to imagine war. Pro-Russian federal television channels referenced it throughout 2014, featuring footage of the bombing of Belgrade and other cities to expose the supposed hypocrisy of Western criticism of Russian actions. The deterioration of the security situation internationally has the potential to spread instability to Bosnia and Herzegovina [] Their mission will be to demonstrate the EUs determination to maintain stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is no coincidence. But the world in which such a war is possible has been forged jointly by Russia and the United States, starting twenty-three years ago. This announcement was made several days before Russias invasion. During the dissolution of former Yugoslavia, it was revealed that Podgorica never made a peace agreement with Japan. This mirroring can also be seen in the Kremlins military tactics, with strikes across Ukraine on infrastructure, civilian, and military targets, just as during NATOs bombing of Yugoslavia. The Kremlins incessant claims of genocide in the Donbass and its creation of a refugee crisis there by inviting and bribing Donbass citizens to come to Russia feel like obvious efforts to echo Western actions in Kosovo. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement and Your California Privacy Rights. But you and I have witnessed a war in Europe, the war against Yugoslavia, which was unleashed, coincidentally, by NATO. If, for Putin, Yugoslavia was the first color revolution, then Ukraine could be seen as a Russian bleach revolution, as it tries to remove the color from Ukraine with little regard to the damage the process causes to that countrys people or social fabric. I agree to abide by FPs comment guidelines. All rights reserved. As with BiH, everything hinges on what Belgrade has to say. The ultra-rich are buying them in record numbers. By the time the report was completed, Arbour had completed her term at the I.C.T.Y. Croats in BiH, particularly Dragan ovi, leader of the HDZ BiH, are yet to react officially. "Today Kosovo, the region but also the whole globe is facing dangers caused by the aggressive course of Russia," President Vjosa Osmani told parliament in a speech to mark the 14th anniversary of her country's independence. Although Russia contributed to an international effort to send peacekeepers to Kosovo, it openly supported the Yugoslav forces there and even stormed Pristina airport, preventing NATO planes from landing. They have little power and will not impact political or security decisions in the country. Reporting by Fatos Bytyci 2022 Cond Nast. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia is an attack on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine, a serious violation of the basic principles of international law, a blow to the democratic order and a threat to the stability of Europe, Pendarovski stated. But, on the right and radical part of the political spectrum, some groups have praised Putin for being a tough guy. At the end of 1999, Vladimir Putin became President of Russia. Vladimir Putin has consistently drawn from a reservoir of resentment that was deepened by NATOs air strikes in Kosovo in 1999. If she did, the U.S. and Great Britain could have just pulled the plug on the tribunal., International law allows military action under two scenarios: if a nation or nations are acting in self-defense, or if they have the sanction of the U.N. Security Council. I Can Never Go Back. He also said the letter was a threat to every Albanian, and it should mark the end of all cooperation with Serbia. Twenty-three years later, Kremlin propagandists still use the NATO bombing campaign to justify their own actions. This sentiment grew stronger after NATOs bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, which forced Milosevic to negotiate and cede Kosovo, leaving many Serb civilians to flee the area. Chancellor just said that people of his generation (and I am a member of his generation) can hardly imagine any kind of war in Europe. Serbian political forces remain quiet, waiting for guidelines from Belgrade, which has been largely silent so far. Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile. But if the law is only a recommendation, then its not law. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers. invoking Western disregard for international law, Ukraine Has Ground Down Russias Arms Business. Following the invasion, leaders from every side of the political spectrum, including the president, condemned Russia and pledged solidarity with Ukraine, NATO and Europe. It was framed, by the participating governments and much of the media, as a humanitarian intervention. Russia, which has long backed Serbia in its disagreements with the West, does not recognise Kosovo as an independent state and has blocked it joining the United Nations. The so-called disso queen, whose former clients range from Kim Kardashian to Johnny Depp, reflects on the state of our unions. President Vjosa Osmani said she is working with allies to prevent any destabilisation in the region, following a meeting with US Ambassador to Pristina Jeff Hovenier.