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France's recent request that new elections be held as soon as possible in the north of Kosovo and Paris's call for Prishtina to take steps towards the establishment of the Association of municipalities with a Serbian majority as part of the path to membership in the Council of Europe have raised voices that the French are against Kosovo, or that they are siding with Serbia.
Some have also recalled the request made by France to link the liberalization of visas for citizens of Kosovo by the European Union, with the entry into force of the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS).
The first ambassador of Kosovo in France, Muhamedin Kullashi, does not agree with these views. But the editor for Europe of Radio Free Europe, Rikard Jozwiak, believes that France is not using all the capacities it has to help Kosovo.
France's "big turn" towards Kosovo
Through a communique, on April 23, the Presidency of France emphasized that Paris's support for Kosovo's independence and for the country's European integration remains unwavering.
Even Kullashi, once a professor of Philosophy at the University of Pristina and then at the Parisi 8 University, told Radio Evropa e Lire that small nuances, unlike other western countries, for any specific problem, do not mean a change in the state's attitude .
"Both the Americans and the British have roughly the same requirements regarding the solution to the problems that Kosovo has", he said, insisting that Western countries coordinate before any major action.
Commenting on the voices that bring France closer to Serbia, Kullashi said that although both countries have traditionally cultivated good relations, the big turn was made when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intervened against the objectives of the Yugoslav army. in 1999.
Kullashi has said that since the meetings he had in 1999 with the then French president, Jacques Chirac, he has seen the determination of France to help Kosovo, as he affirmed that the same atmosphere continued in Paris during the years 2008- 2016, when he served as ambassador to France.
France was among the first countries to recognize Kosovo's independence, while, according to Kullash, the French diplomatic network has helped Kosovo a lot with recognition and membership in international organizations. As a concrete example, he mentioned France's help in integrating Kosovo into the International Organization of La Francophonie.
"French diplomats have understood the pressure that Russia has put on 10 African countries not to vote for Kosovo's membership. After a request that President François Hollande sent to the heads of states who expressed reservations, they all agreed on Kosovo's membership", said Kullashi, author of two books on Kosovo's relations with France.
As a great support for Kosovo, Kullashi also mentioned France's contribution to the International Court of Justice, which in 2010 found that Kosovo's declaration of independence was not in violation of international law. He said that senior French legal experts prepared a 70-page report to defend the case of Kosovo./REL
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