Israeli crisis to have repercussions in the Balkans - has Western patience run out?

The West wants a quick solution to the Kosovo issue, expert says.

Diplomat Zoran Milivojevic told Blic, Serbia is concerned about what is happening in Israel and in current events in the world. He added that if the situation in the Middle East escalates according to the principle of concentric circles, it could also affect Kosovo. On the other hand, the current Israeli conflict shows that frozen conflicts are extremely volatile.

The situation escalated in Kosovo, especially after the events in Banjska. Meanwhile, the maximalist attitude still prevails in Pristina. All of this is a big warning,

the diplomat stated.

That is why it is also in the interest of the West, especially in light of the Israeli war, for the Kosovo crisis to be resolved as soon as possible, said Milivojevics.

The expert went on to stress that Western powers do not want to leave the Kosovo issue open, and are pressuring the parties to return to dialogue. 

In contrast to Milivojevic, Dragoljub Raseta, a researcher at the New Third Way, believes that the Israeli war is neither slowing down nor speeding up progress on the Kosovo issue.

Both the US and the EU each have their own Western Balkans special envoys, who are working to formally resolve the Kosovo issue and to persuade Belgrade and Pristina to normalize relations ahead of next year's elections,

Raseta told Blic.

Cover photo: Clampdown in Kosovo following the events in Banjska (Source: Facebook/Kosovo police)