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| A Ukrainian team with Javelin missiles |
The recent approval by the United States to fulfill Kosovo's request for the purchase of 246 Javelin anti-tank systems is sending a clear message to Serbia, indicating that official Belgrade is not considered a reliable partner, according to Kurt Bassuener, a senior associate at the Council for Democratic Policy in Berlin.
The U.S. announced on January 11 that it had accepted Kosovo's request for the acquisition of Javelin anti-tank systems, manufactured in the U.S. The U.S. State Department informed Radio Free Europe that the cost of these systems to Kosovo would be $75 million.
This matter has now been sent to the U.S. Congress for approval, and Kosovo's President, Vjosa Osmani, expressed confidence that the request for these weapons would be granted. In contrast, her Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vučić, labeled the news as a "great disappointment."
Bassuener believes that this move doesn't necessarily indicate a change in Western policy towards Vučić, but rather signals a potential reevaluation. "The message that the U.S. is sending with this purchase is that Serbia, despite the West's declarations that it is a partner in the dialogue, is not considered a reliable partner, or not reliable under the current leadership," he stated.
The announcement of Kosovo's intention to buy missile systems from the U.S. comes at a time of heightened tensions between Kosovo and Serbia. In recent months, the Serbian military has moved troops towards the Kosovo border, guarded by the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo (KFOR), leading to several incidents in northern Kosovo – a predominantly Serbian-populated area. This includes an armed attack by a group of Serbs against the Kosovo Police in Banjska e Zveçanit, resulting in one Kosovo Police officer and three Serb attackers being killed.
The U.S. has stated that the violence in Banjska, which included the death of a Kosovo Police officer and the subsequent clashes resulting in three Serb attackers killed, will not be allowed to repeat.
German expert Bassuener believes that the incident in Banjska is one of the reasons the U.S. aims to strengthen Kosovo's defense capabilities. He stated, "In my meetings in Washington, I haven't seen a major shift in thinking. But there is more acknowledgment than the policies pursued so far have not yielded the expected results. Therefore, I hope that the decision for Javelin missiles is the first sign of a change in strategy towards the Western Balkans from both sides of the Atlantic."