On left: Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. On right: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Cars with the Kosovo license plate (center left) and the Serbian license plate (credit: Nikola Mikovic) / photo illustration: Toward Freedom

NATO Wades Into License Plate Dispute Between Serbia and Kosovo

Despite the European Union moderating bilateral talks, ethnically Albanian-dominated authorities in Pristina, Kosovo’s capital, plan on September 1 to re-register vehicles featuring Serbian plates. But a poll shows the majority of Kosovo-based Serbs plan to continue using Serbian-issued license plates. This dispute comes amid Serbia’s refusal to recognize the 2008 secession of Kosovo. Nikola Mikovic reports from Kosovo.

The leaders of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan (right), and Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev (left), meet with EU President Charles Michel (center) in Brussels on May 22 / credit: president.az

EU Mediates Conflict in South Caucasus, Long Part of Russia’s Geopolitical Orbit

Although the South Caucasus region has traditionally been in the Kremlin’s geopolitical orbit, it is the European Union that seems to be playing the major role in peace talks, border delimitation and the reopening of transportation links. During the past six months, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev met three times through the mediation of European Council President Charles Michel, reports Nikola Mikovic.

The Palace of Serbia was the venue for July 2019 talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Serbia President Aleksandar Vucic / credit: Twitter/KremlinRussia_E

Sanctions Pressure Sticks Serbia Between Western Hammer and Russian Anvil

Only a handful of European countries have refused to impose sanctions on the Russian Federation after the United States called for them once Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine began on February 24. Serbia is one such outlier. As a result, the West is pressuring the Balkan nation to change its foreign-policy vector and pick a side in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, reports Nikola Mikovic.