"Conflict in Kosovo may result in a new world war" International panorama on Caliber.Az

The reasons for the Kosovo conflict are deeply rooted in Yugoslav history. But there are more immediate causes: both sides do not make any effort to solve the conflict. This opinion was expressed by a Russian researcher, Ph.D. in philosophy and political analyst Andrei Koryakovtsev, commenting on the current tensions in Kosovo in an interview with Caliber.Az.

As we know, the conflict between the Kosovo authorities and the Serbian community escalated on the evening of July 31. Shots and sirens were heard in the border areas, and Kosovo Special Forces arrived at the border. It is reported that on the night of August 1, the de facto government of Kosovo postponed the introduction of a ban on Serbian documents and license plates for a month, until September 1.

"Meanwhile, almost all of Kosovo's imports from the EU go through Serbia. It is enough for Belgrade to decide to suspend the transit of these goods until the situation in Kosovo returns to the framework of international law and resolution 1244. This is effective leverage, but it has not been used so far. In turn, for Kosovo, a potential conflict with traditionally pro-Russian Serbia is an excuse for Western patronage. Thus, the frozen conflict appears as political capital for two weak countries, seeking to justify themselves in it. This conflict would come to light sooner or later," Koryakovtsev said.

According to our interlocutor's estimates, Western society absolutely does not need a military confrontation almost in the center of Europe; it will aggravate the already growing economic crisis.

"NATO is a different matter. NATO officials can use the conflict to manipulate a not-so-obedient Serbia. I think the world war is already taking place in the unconventional format of unrelenting hybrid wars. So it is appropriate to ask whether this confrontation will escalate into another hybrid war. As we can see, the conflict has been postponed for a month so far. What can happen during that time? My guess is that by September the balance of power in Ukraine may radically change, and as a consequence, the Americans and NATO will need to organize a new confrontation, particularly in Kosovo. If the Serbo-Kosovo conflict is postponed, it only means that the time has not yet come for NATO to divert public attention from Ukrainian events. But this time will come sooner or later - and then the "Kosovo case" or any other case will come in handy," Koryakovtsev said.

The head of the analytical department of the International Eurasian Movement, political analyst Vladimir Kireyev joined the above opinion. In his commentary for Caliber.Az about the Serbian-Kosovo events he also emphasized that the aggravation of the situation around Kosovo is taking place under the order of external forces.

"The first and foremost question is about the UK and Germany," said Kireyev. - They act according to a different logic, although it coincides with key points. Both the UK and Germany want to solve the issue of the unsettled status of Kosovo and put pressure on Serbia to finally integrate it into the common European and all-Atlantic agenda. At the same time, they want to put pressure on Russia as Serbia's ally. In general, the operation around Kosovo and Serbia is aimed at fomenting a third or fourth world war."

"The logic of the process takes into account the local and global aspects. The local aspect is that the European Union has long wanted to force Serbia to comply with pan-European discipline in order to eventually put a convenient leadership at the head of this republic. On the other hand, we are talking about a global redistribution of power, taking into account Russia, China, and Iran. Now the US is on the path of aggravation of relations with China, which is associated with the situation around Taiwan and hopes to crush China with little blood and force it to admit defeat. A similar game is unfolding in Ukraine against Russia. Therefore, Serbia is seen as another staging ground for military action during the ongoing third or fourth world war, because at this stage it is difficult to categorize it unambiguously. It is obvious that the main theater of military action of the modern world war is Ukraine, where the war between Russia and all the countries of the West, the United States, and NATO continues.

Diplomatically and economically, the Russian Federation is supported by China and Iran, which have practically integrated into the new Russian foreign policy picture of the world.

However, I hope that the operation in Kosovo, for the lack of sufficient military capabilities of either side of the confrontation is unlikely to become large-scale. It is more likely to be a small conflict," Kireyev concluded.