I have the feeling that Athens is waiting for the right moment to recognize Kosovo. The climate is relatively good in Greece, but its diplomacy is careful not to take hasty measures which would satisfy the Albanians but displease Serbia, declared Stavros Tzimas in this interview with the Albanian daily.
Seasoned Greek journalist Tzimas is, among other things, Northern Greece correspondent for the prestigious daily Kathimerini and a journalist for AMNA (Athenian-Macedonian Press Agency). He is a well-known journalist and analyst of the Balkans, their geopolitics and relations between the countries, including of course Greek-Albanian relations. Mr. Tzimas has also published numerous investigative reports on political and financial scandals in his country. We discussed with him the current situation in the Western Balkans, recent events in northern Kosovo and the ongoing animosity between Albania and Greece over the case of imprisoned Himara elected mayor Fredi Beleri.
Regarding this last point, Tzimas comments that Tirana-Athens relations have entered an impasse which is poisoning the general climate and that “the conclusion of this story will not be the same, and there should not be a “winner” and “loser”. Read the conversation we had with our colleague Stavros Tzimas below:
– Mr. Tzimas, thank you for being ready to have this conversation with the Albanian daily Daily News.
While we had agreed to conduct this interview on recent events in the region and Greek-Albanian relations, a serious incident occurred in Kosovo, where a commando-style armed group of Serbs attacked the local police and a battle on a large scale ensued. On the same day, Prime Minister Albin Kurti would declare that dialogue with Serbia in its current form is dead, while a few days earlier he would also accuse EU special envoy Miroslav Lajcak of showing blatant partiality with Serbia. I would like your comment: where do we go from here?
-We had similar episodes before the events in Banjska. We remember that last May, violent clashes broke out – in which NATO peacekeeping forces intervened – between Albanian police officers and local Serbs to protest against the inauguration of Albanian mayors in Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo.
And we will have more, hopefully not in blood, until a solution is found and relations are normalized.
Europeans, and Westerners in general, have made it clear to Kurti and Vucic that a necessary condition for entering the European Union is to resolve the ethnic differences that separate them. Episodes like Banjska’s have put a damper on the dialogue, which has stalled, temporarily I hope, after the events of May.
Even if both leaders know this, it is not easy to reach an agreement based on what happened before. It is positive that the two parties are negotiating on the basis of a European project, even reluctantly and under pressure from the international factor. The road to negotiations will not be paved with roses, but it is a one-way street for both peoples.
The other “solution”, if dialogue fails, is war, which neither the Serbs nor the Albanians can win. And they certainly know that the international community will not allow further bloodshed.
Nobody wants to light another fire in the Balkans because of the narrow-mindedness of Kurti and Vucic.
Sooner or later, both men will be forced to return to the negotiating table.
– Staying on the subject of Kosovo, we are witnessing an intensification of political, diplomatic and economic contacts between Kosovo and Greece. The Prime Minister of Kosovo even stated that among the five EU member states that do not recognize Kosovo, Athens is the closest to recognition. How do you comment on Athens’ official position in this regard?
-I have the feeling that Athens is waiting for the right moment to recognize Kosovo.
The climate is relatively good in Greece, but its diplomacy must not take a step that would satisfy the Albanians but displease Serbia, with which it maintains traditional ties.
This is why I consider – and this is a personal assessment – that the Greek side is waiting for something positive to emerge in the ongoing dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade and then proceed to recognition.
– Greek-Albanian relations appear to be entering a new period in early 2023, as the respective leaders, Prime Minister Rama and Mitsotakis, have also started to build personal relations. An art exhibition was inaugurated by Rama in Athens, in the presence of his counterpart and several ministers.
Then came the Albanian local elections and the arrest of the winning opposition candidate for Himara municipality and representative of the Greek minority, Fredi Beleri, accused of vote theft, who learned of the victory while he was in prison. A series of protests followed from Greece. According to the information available to you, when did this event bring about bilateral relations?
And secondly, after the parties’ arguments were made public, why do you think this arrest was made, which prevents Beleri from taking office?
-First of all, Greek-Albanian relations must never return to the difficult days of the early 90s.
I do not wish to go into the merits of the case of the arrest of the elected mayor of Himara, because there may be things (evidence) that we do not know and the Albanian government would do well, if there is any , to have them made public so that correct conclusions can be drawn from them. Otherwise, the climate of suspicion regarding the hidden interests behind the proceedings against Beleri will become even heavier.
What must be taken seriously is the fact that this affair threatens not only to cause a breakdown in the relations of the Himara community – and the Greek minority in the broad sense – with the authorities in Tirana, but also to take holding Greek-Albanian relations hostage. Justice must be done in the Beleri case and the first thing to do, in my opinion, is to open channels between the two parties, in order to find a way out of the impasse.
Because we are indeed in an impasse, which is poisoning the general climate and of course the conclusion of this story is not going to do that, nor should it have a “winner” and a “loser”.
– Europe is going through a very delicate period after the Russian attack on Ukraine, and the repercussions are inevitable also for the Western Balkans. The EU, with American support, has reiterated its desire to integrate the region, but on the other hand, Russian influence is becoming even more visible in Western Balkan hotspots, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and the northern of Kosovo. Has the time come to politically accelerate the accession process, which has so far been bogged down in a tangle of technical procedures?
– The truth is that the populations of the Western Balkan countries, after the invasion of Ukraine, are beginning to feel that Russian expansionism is approaching their doorstep and are looking for a safety net in the EU.
The Europeans certainly want them, but I have the impression that they now have other priorities. However, they are not going to leave them helpless. They will support them financially and at the same time they will intensify pressure to advance reforms, mainly in terms of corruption. But what matters most are the candidate countries. The EU does not want to repatriate countries that will carry unresolved historical conflicts, conflicts and blood in their “baggage”.
– We are seeing an easing of Greek-Turkish clashes and a desire to return to the dialogue table with Athens on the part of President Erdogan. Do you think that the war in Ukraine and the resizing of the priorities of each country have affected this new position?
-Greek-Turkish relations, with their tensions and recessions, predate the war in Ukraine, because they go back a long way. Today, after the meeting between Mitsotakis and Erdogan in New York, it seems that we are entering a period of calm in the Aegean waters.
Of course, the problems have not been resolved and will not be resolved easily, but the improvement in the climate will at least help the two parties to talk to each other and dialogue is always useful because it can avoid the worst.
-Finally, a comment on the latest political developments in Greece. The largest opposition party, Syriza, has a new leader, Mr Kasselakis. There have been statements from disgruntled party members that with these elections Syriza has detached itself from its left-wing profile…
-It is too early to judge politically. However, the way he (Mr Kasselakis) has established himself in politics and the lifestyle he is launching has sparked a debate within and outside his party and, I would say, a sort of perplexity in the public sphere.
So far he appears to be ignoring some fundamental political questions, but outgoing Syriza president Alexis Tsipras, who is seen by many as the one who “planted” the new headquarters, said he is “learning fast.” .
Time will show us. The bottom line, however, is that the Greek political scene needs a strong second party pillar, which is an alternative to the center-right of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who appears dominant and all-powerful. So we’ll have to wait and see… / DNA