Kosovo: Ukraine's victory crucial amid rising tensions in Europe

Kosovo's foreign minister emphasized on Wednesday that her country believes that defeating Russia in the conflict in Ukraine is crucial to prevent further escalation of tensions in Europe.

Donika Gervalla-Schwarz, who serves as both foreign minister and deputy prime minister of Kosovo despite Kiev's failure to recognize Kosovo's independence, reiterated Kosovo's unwavering support for Ukraine.

Noting Kosovo's own history of attacks by Serbia and Russia, Gervalla-Schwarz emphasized the importance of Russia losing the war in Ukraine and Kyiv emerging victorious to protect Europe from future conflicts.

While acknowledging that Ukraine does not recognize Kosovo's statehood status, Gervalla-Schwarz expressed solidarity, drawing parallels between the struggles faced by both nations.

“Ukraine hasn’t recognized the Republic of Kosovo as a state, but we really believe that we know exactly what Ukraine is going through,” she said.

In response to recent threats from Moscow, including a call for cyber attacks on Kosovo's government websites, Gervalla-Schwarz reaffirmed Kosovo's commitment to support Ukraine and even inaugurated Kosovo's first consular mission in Poland as part of efforts to strengthen ties between the two countries.

Gervalla-Schwarz also commented on Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Serbia and warned that Serbia's growing rapprochement with the enemies of European Western democracies, including Russia, contradicts its aspirations to join the European Union.

In 1998-1999, Serbian forces clashed with ethnic Albanians in Kosovo, then a province of Serbia. The war resulted in around 13,000 deaths, mainly ethnic Albanians, until 78 days of NATO bombing forced Serb forces to withdraw. In 2008 Kosovo declared independence, but the Belgrade government refuses to recognize Kosovo as a separate nation.

Source: AP