Something different was in the air in Tirana this week as an avalanche of regional leaders rolled into town for various summits – with every country in the Balkans having a head of state or government present — with the notable exception of Greece.
The official visit of Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic was, of course, the headline news. The first by a Serbian leader to Tirana ever, the official visit came six months after his Albanian counterpart, Edi Rama, visited Belgrade.
The Tirana return visit appears to have gone smoothly and with no major incidents. Both sides were all smiles, calm and in an agree-to-disagree mood over Kosovo.
This was a far cry from the anger in Belgrade six months ago, when Rama asked Serbia to recognize Kosovo at a joint press conference, something that visibly displeased Vucic.
“Provocacija” (provocation) is the only Serbian word to enter Albanian language as a colloquialism of late. That’s because it appeared that the only thing Albanians could do in Serbia is to provoke, according to the Serbs. First there was a drone and a map above a soccer match – then there was Rama’s daring statement: “Kosovo is independent.” Anger and hate spewed in m
any Serbian media outlets as a result. “Provocacija” was the headline.
This week in Tirana there was none of that. Vucic said what he had to – “Kosovo is Serbia” – even though we know it — and he knows it – that hasn’t been the case ever since Slobodan Milosevic tried to ethnically cleanse the territory from the 90 percent of the ethnic Albanian population that inhabits it.
Yet there was no anger or passion in Tirana over the Vucic statement. Albanian leaders also were OK with the guest saying whatever he wanted.
More Tirana residents appeared angry about the traffic headaches that came from the security measures associated with the visit rather than anything Vucic himself said.
But the visit was clearly positive, overall, and after some anger and dubious statements in recent months – the “let’s join the EU together” official line was firmly back on the agenda.
The Vucic-Rama statements and the presence of all the regional leaders in Tirana this week is a clear indication they are back on track – away from nationalism and into integration.
Relations between Albanians and Serbs are strategic, and do have an impact on peace and stability in the region, the two leaders said, and they are right.
This is, of course, rhetoric that comes after gentle nudges from the European Union and the United States. If left to their own devices – as was the case for the past few years – the region’s leaders are very happy to return to nationalism if it suits their own short-term political goals.
It is also no coincidence. The recent bloodshed in Macedonia has shaken the region’s leaders and their international partners. They know that the road from political posturing to violence can be short, and what most Balkan residents had seen as the past, ethnic violence, can easily be worked into the present.
The positive spirit of the talks and the overall statements after the Vucic–Rama meetings and the handshakes and smiles at the other summits this week are an indication that what happened in Macedonia has had an impact.
At the end of the day, the violence in Kumanovo has shown that regress simply can’t be allowed to happen, and the meetings in Tirana showed everyone appears to have been jolted back on track.
