Disinfo: US trying to provoke Serbia into a military operation

Summary

The Atlanticists, more precisely the employees of the US embassy in Pristina, are trying to provoke Serbia into military operations to protect the Serbian population of Kosovo, and to force Russia to intervene in the conflict on the side of the Serbs.

Disproof

A new narrative specific on the Kosovo situation using a classic Kremlin trope: US causing conflict and war.

This anti-Western disinformation advances the narrative that the US is provoking conflict in the Western Balkans and forcing Russia to intervene. No evidence is provided that the recent heightened tensions between Kosovo and Serbia are being provoked by the US embassy in Kosovo.

The spark that ignited recent tension between Kosovo and Serbia in 2022 was that Kosovo's government wanted those who live in Serb areas to change their Serbian-issued car number plates for Kosovan-issued ones. About 50,000 people refused to change their car number plates and it increased tension between the Serbian and Kosovo government. Under the facilitation of the EU, Serbia and Kosovo agreed on measures to avoid further escalation.

The United States welcomed the agreements reached between Kosovo and Serbia to avoid further escalation.

Russian state outlets, like this Sputnik platform try to talk up the crisis in Kosovo.

See more cases Disinfo: Pristina is entirely responsible for the tension in Northern Kosovo and It became possible for Crimea to return to Russia when the West recognised Kosovo.

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publication/media

sputnik.az (Archived)
  • Reported in: Issue 321
  • DATE OF PUBLICATION: 14/12/2022
  • Article language(s) Azerbaijani
  • Countries and/or Regions discussed in the disinformation: Serbia, Kosovo, US
  • Keywords: Kosovo, ethnic tension, US presence in Europe
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Disinfo: Poland keeps eyeing western Ukraine, also parts of Germany, Czechia and Slovakia

The Poles are getting ready to take over western Ukraine. Polish nationalism is like an elephant waiting to swallow Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, as well as parts of Germany, Czechia, and Slovakia.

Dec 13, 2022
Disproof

Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives, challenging Ukraine’s statehood and presenting Poland as a state with imperial ambitions. While pro-Kremlin outlets usually speak of Polish imperial intentions towards Belarus and Ukraine, the publication in question promotes a rare type of the ‘imperial’ narrative, extending alleged Polish claims to Czechia, Germany, and Lithuania as well.

The disinformation message about Polish aggressive plans towards Ukraine has adopted several different and sometimes contradictory forms, including allegations that Poland wants either to create a puppet proxy-state in Western Ukraine or the annexation of these territories or that it is actually President Zelenskyy who wants to cede this land due to his “Polish origin”.

Disinfo: NATO decided to invade the Serbian enclave of Mitrovica to punish Belgrade

Serbia rejects the sanctions approach towards Russia. To punish Serbia, NATO decided to use the same weapon of provocation previously used against Russia and China, using the government of self-proclaimed Kosovo for this purpose, which is not recognised as legitimate by half of the international community. Indeed, the military invasion of the Serbian enclave of Mitrovica represents an act of great provocation against Belgrade, to the extent that the possibility of the outbreak of armed conflict in the near future cannot be ruled out.

Dec 13, 2022
Disproof

Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative not backed up with evidence, baselessly blaming NATO for a complicated situation that has been long brewing despite EU and US efforts to defuse tensions. NATO, a frequent target of pro-Kremlin disinformation, didn’t play any role in increasing these tensions. In fact, both Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vuciv and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti requested some action from NATO to play some role to address the crisis.

On the other hand, Russian officials, media and Telegram channels have been trying for a long time to inflame tensions around Kosovo and the Western Balkans. On 15 November 2022, Russia launched its new online channel RT Balkan in the Serbian language, which RT head Margarita Simonyan presented with the words: “Because Serbia is Kosovo”. According to a recent report by the European Council on Foreign Relations, "[the Russian media's] aim is mainly to attack the legitimacy of Kosovo’s statehood, but also to fuel ethnic tensions by portraying the Serb community in Kosovo as victims of an abusive central government.”

Disinfo: The West is trying to force Serbia to accept anti-Russian sanctions, fueling the conflict in Kosovo

The European Union is deliberately fomenting a conflict in northern Kosovo in order to persuade Belgrade to adopt anti-Russian sanctions.

The European Union is doing everything necessary to put Serbia in the most difficult position, since Belgrade will not be able to respond to the provocations of the Kosovo authorities. At the same time, the West prefers to turn a blind eye to the violation of agreements by the unrecognized Republic of Kosovo. The EU and the collective West are doing everything necessary to make Serbia bow its head.

The actions of the European Union towards Serbia are comparable with the attitude of the collective West to the situation in Ukraine. The shelling of the territories of the DPR and LPR, which took place more than eight years ago, was also ignored by them for a long time. At the same time, the indignation of the West by Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure facilities followed immediately.

Dec 13, 2022
Disproof

Conspiracy theory and Whataboutism. Pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative baselessly blaming the EU for a complicated situation that has been long brewing despite EU and US efforts to defuse tensions. The EU, a frequent target of pro-Kremlin disinformation, didn’t play any role in increasing those tensions.

Both Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti requested some action from NATO to address the latest crisis.