FLASH
Shkruar nga Patrick Mayer
If you take the ferry from the beautiful Adriatic islands of Korcula, Vis or Hvar - also known as Croatia's Ibiza - to reach the mainland, you have to cross a strait that separates the equally picturesque Mediterranean island of Brac. Then visit the famous port city of Split.
Balkans: US sends aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford to Croatian Split
The most modern aircraft carrier in the United States passed through this part of the Adriatic on June 26, before arriving at the port of the second largest city in Croatia. "Good morning Croatia," the crew wrote on the official Twitter account after the sensational arrival in Dalmatia.
Another post says: "Strengthening partnership with our NATO allies in Croatia. The world's largest aircraft carrier arrives in Split, Croatia for a scheduled port visit.
This visit comes at a time when points of conflict are igniting in the Western Balkans, while in Serbia, the ultra-nationalist president Aleksandar Vucic is being put under the pressure of mass demonstrations with tens of thousands of people. A coincidence?
Fire in the Balkans. A look back
At the end of May, more than 30 Italian and Hungarian soldiers from NATO's peacekeeping mission, KFOR, were injured in riots by Serbian militants in Kosovo, some of them seriously injured, when demonstrators wanted to attack the city administration in Zveçan . The transatlantic defense alliance then sent an additional 700 troops to the region, in addition to the 3,800 troops already stationed.
Kosovo: Clashes between NATO-led KFOR and Serbian militants
With about 1.8 million inhabitants, Kosovo is located in the middle of the Western Balkans, on the border with Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia. After all, the small country shares a border of about 350 kilometers with Serbia, to which it once belonged as a sub-region before Kosovo, inhabited mainly by Albanians, declared its independence in 2008. Which the Serbian government in Belgrade has not accepted it until today.
According to World Bank estimates, the population in Kosovo consists of 88 percent Albanians, 7 percent Serbs and 5 percent other ethnic groups. Since December, Serbian militants had blocked the roads around Mitrovica with heavy trucks. It is said that there were shots fired. Mitrovica, with its approximately 60,000 inhabitants, is considered to be particularly explosive because the city is divided into southern Albanian and northern Serbian quarters.
Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic: Close connection of the ruler of Moscow, Vladimir Putin
At the time, Vucic suggested sending 1,000 Serbian soldiers, ostensibly for de-escalation. However, the multinational KFOR rejected the request. Vučić then accused the KFOR command on the private pro-government broadcaster PINK TV, of humiliating the Serbs with the negative answer. As early as August 2022, suspected militant Serbs blocked two border crossings with heavy machinery. As the government in Pristina has explained, unknown persons have also shot at Kosovar policemen. KFOR missions also include 70 soldiers from the German Bundeswehr, who are stationed in Pristina.
Serbia, which maintains close ties with Russia despite the war in Ukraine, has a historic distrust of NATO. In the Kosovo War for the independence of the former Serbian province, between the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army and the Serbian army, NATO carried out thousands of flights together with the KLA as part of the Allied operation. The airstrikes targeted military as well as civilian targets, killing not only soldiers but also many Serbian civilians.
Mass protests in Serbia - US aircraft carrier arrives in Croatia
Në dallim nga Kroacia fqinje me rreth 4 milionë banorë, Serbia me rreth 6.8 milionë banorë ende nuk është as pjesë e NATO-s dhe as e Bashkimit Europian. Në qershor të këtij viti, Vuçiç po përballet me protestat më të mëdha masive në të gjithë vendit që prej demonstratave masive kundër kriminelit të luftës, Sllobodan Millosheviç në vjeshtën e vitit 2000. Opozita e akuzon 53-vjeçarin për një stil politik agresiv. Sipas kundërshtarëve të tij politikë, ai është përgjegjës për dy vrasjet masive në maj, që shkaktuan 18 viktima.
Ndërkohë që në të njëjtën kohë, deputetët e pakicës serbe në Bosnjen fqinje me rreth 3.3 milionë banorë, votuan për të mos njohur më vendimet e Gjykatës Kushtetuese dhe ambasada amerikane në Sarajevë e quajti këtë një budallallëk. Kjo ishte koha kur aeroplanmbajtësja amerikane hyri në Split.
As a regular visit between partners or as a show of force by NATO heavyweights in the Western Balkans?/ Taken from Frankfurter Rundschau
Lini një Përgjigje