ISTANBUL: Be that as it may, the recent political infighting among Bosnia’s ethnonational elites over an economically and geopolitically charged issue like the pipeline project should come as no surprise at all in a country where even the most basic services of daily life – such as hospitals, schools, fire brigades, garbage collection services, and so on – are deeply divided along ethnic lines in a system that fully institutionalizes and reifies ethnic cleavages. Western pressure and reassurances to Croatia and Bosnian Croats will likely lead them to end their obstructionism, but all this still begs the question: Even if the Southern Interconnection natural gas pipeline is unblocked and eventually constructed, will this actually serve to reduce Moscow’s influence in Bosnia and more broadly in the Western Balkans?
It will certainly be a positive step but I believe that this still does not address the crux of the matter. ???????Russia’s leverage over Bosnia and the Western Balkans and its potential to stir up
trouble there does not stem primarily from Moscow’s weaponization of its energy resources or the special relationship it has with Republika Srpska that constitutes probably the closest thing we have to a Russian client entity in the region. Rather, Moscow’s leverage over the region stems primarily from its obstructionism and blocking of the recognition of Kosovo’s independence. This is also the most important bond that unites Serbian and Russian interests in the region and allows Belgrade to perpetuate instability in Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and often even in North Macedonia. As such, in order to close off any opening to Moscow to trigger regional instability, apart from plans to reduce regional energy dependence on Russian gas as the Southern Interconnection pipeline discussed here, what is more important, I think, is making Kosovo a NATO member state. What is needed for that is rather straightforward: Western pressure on the four NATO non-recognizers of Kosovo, namely Greece, Romania, Slov
akia, and Spain to end their obstructionism on this matter. Amid Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine, the stakes are too high to ignore this practical course of action.
*Opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Anadolu.
Source: Anadolu Agency
