The migration crisis in Europe, which is a heavy burden for Serbia, made Belgrade raise the question of Kosovo again and remind the Europeans how the territory was actually annexed from the country. According to the Serbian Constitution, Kosovo is still a part of Serbia as the Autonomous Territory of Kosovo and Metohija. However, the majority of the countries of the world recognize the independence of Kosovo, which is primarily populated by Albanians.
“Hundreds of radical Islamists from this Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia are fighting in the Middle East. The question of Kosovo is not only a question of the Serbian cultural population, the destruction of the whole of our heritage, it is also a question of opening a corridor for the breakthrough of radical Islam to Europe,” Slavenko Terzic, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Serbia to Russia, says.
He is sure that Europe has belatedly realized this problem: “Europe is not ready to face such serious problems. To solve this problem it is necessary to solve the causes. If you support radical Islam in the Balkans, what would you expect today? It comes to you today!:”
In May 2012 Moscow stated that it was unacceptable to turn Kosovo into an international polygon for the training of militants. The media began publishing articles about contacts of the Syrian opposition with the Kosovo authorities. The point was not only in “experience exchange” in organization of separatist movements aimed at overthrowing acting regimes, but also about the training of Syrian militants on the territory of Kosovo. They intended to use regions which were similar to Syrian landscapes geographically.
The Russian Foreign Ministry made a statement that such intentions “contradicted efforts by the special envoy of the UN and the LAS, Kofi Annan, which were supported by the whole international community. Moreover, turning Kosovo into an international polygon for training militants from various armed groups could become a serious destabilizing factor not only in the Balkan region. We urge the international forces acting on the territory to take the necessary measures on prevention of such plans.”
Nobody listened to Moscow then. And today Slavenko Terzic addresses Europeans: “If you support radical Islam in Kosovo and Metohija, what can you expect? You can expect that tomorrow this radical Islam will come to Central Europe and Western Europe as well.”
