Schmidt on the terrorist attack in Kosovo: It fits Putin’s playbook

The High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, has spoken in an interview about the current threat of war in the Balkans and Russia’s influence in Serbia.

Asked by t-online what danger he sees from Russia in the current situation in Kosovo, where there was a terrorist attack by some 30 people supported by Serbia that killed a Kosovo policeman, Schmidt said this is a scenario from Vladimir Putin’s playbook.

“This fits into Putin’s playbook, and that’s why we must always be alert to current problems and crises.” However, I don’t see much danger of war between Serbia and Kosovo at the moment. KFOR is in Kosovo and NATO has about 5,000 troops in the country to prevent a possible escalation. “The current crisis is more like a political struggle in which, unfortunately, people have died,” Schmidt said.

Asked if he believed that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is “an innocent lamb” and that the Serbian government had nothing to do with the attack on Kosovo policemen and was not even massing troops on the border with Kosovo, Schmidt replied, “It is hard to say. We don’t know at this point what exactly happened. There is a lot of speculation, but our experience in the Western Balkans shows that it is extremely unlikely that anyone anywhere has no idea. Instead, there are always many in the Balkans who are involved in such incidents.”

“It is cynical that Serbia and Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina have declared a day of mourning for the attackers who died in these battles.” “These incidents do not mean the end of a process of political rapprochement, but the situation is quite dangerous.”

He said that Serbia cannot afford, at least strategically, to break away from the West simply because of its geographic location.

However, Schmidt believes it is likely that Serbia’s policy of placing itself between Russia and the West will continue.

“Russia has always tried to maintain close contacts with Serbia in recent history. Both countries have some things in common.”

He said that in a situation like the current one in Kosovo, the West should be vigilant and act decisively.

“The West must insist that this situation be investigated by both sides. It must be made clear that Serbia cannot make concessions only to the aggressors,” he said. “This does not work if you are committed to European values,” said Christian Schmidt, the UN-appointed High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. /TheGeopost/