Summary of the day
Kosovo’s foreign minister called on western capitals to take action against Serbia. “Now, nothing can remain as it was,” Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz said.
Milan Radoičić, a Kosovo Serb politician who had admitted to involvement in a deadly gun battle with police on 24 September that raised concerns about the region’s stability, has been arrested.
Vladimír Bilčík, a Slovak member of the European parliament and negotiator for Serbia, said that both Belgrade and Pristina “have enormous responsibility to make sure that we get back to the dialogue as soon as possible”.
Armenia’s national assembly ratified the founding statute of the international criminal court. Russia was not happy.
Germany called for international observers to stay in Nagorno-Karabakh to help build “trust” for civilians.
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Engjellushe Morina, a senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said that the heightened tension between Kosovo and Serbia “doesn’t come as a surprise.”
“I don’t think the dialogue process was going well,” she told the Guardian, adding that the way Kosovo’s prime minister Albin Kurti has handled the process “exposed many difficulties in the relations … in integrating the north of Kosovo, but also in the difficulties and some impossibilities in trying to normalise relations with Serbia.”
“The attempts to try and resolve it are very much focused on minority rights, when the problem is purely territorial … Serbia doesn’t want to let go of control of this part of Kosovo,” she added.
“Now,” Morina said, “we realise that this is a serious security issue more than anything else.”
The centre-right European People’s party wants the EU to “seize the opportunity” in Armenia.
Nagorno-Karabakh shows that Moscow has lost control of its near abroad. The EU must seize the opportunity and provide Armenia with an ambitious plan for cooperation. We owe strong support to their democratically elected authorities and ambition to reduce dependency on Russia.
— Andrey Kovatchev (@andreykovatchev) October 3, 2023
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Commission welcomes Armenia's ICC ratification
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, welcomed Armenia’s vote today to ratify the founding statute of the international criminal court.
“The world is getting smaller for the autocrat in the Kremlin,” she pointedly tweeted.
The world is getting smaller for the autocrat in the Kremlin.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 3, 2023
I welcome the ratification of the @IntlCrimCourt Rome Statute by the Armenian Parliament.
Armenia has joined 123 states committed to the rule of law.
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Members of the European parliament are concerned about the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh.
“We remain committed to supporting the ongoing peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” said Željana Zovko, a centre-right Croatian member of the European parliament.
Speaking at the parliament’s plenary session, she said however that “any attempts by Azerbaijan to exploit this situation to destabilize Armenia or engage in military actions on its territory will be deemed unacceptable. In the event of such actions we will conduct a reevaluation of our relationship with Azerbaijan,” she said.
Meanwhile, an Estonian MEP, Marina Kaljurand, from the Socialists and Democrats group, said Europe “should reconsider its relations with Azerbaijan and make them conditional”.
“We have to stop with appeasement,” she said. “There must be immediate consequences” for Azerbaijan’s leadership, Kaljurand insisted.
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Stella Kyriakides, representing the European Commission, tells members of the European parliament that “the European Union is closely following the worrying developments in Karabakh” and is engaged “at the highest level to help alleviate the humanitarian impact on civilians”.
“The EU has condemned Azerbaijan’s use of force in Nagorno-Karabakh against its earlier assurances and commitment to seek a diplomatic solution,” she said.
“Those who fled to Armenia need to be able to return to their homes in safety,” she said, adding that civilians’ cultural heritage and property rights also need to be protected.
“The EU has stressed that there is a pressing need for transparency and access for international humanitarian and human rights actors,” the commissioner added.
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The EU has asked Azerbaijan to provide full access to the civilian population and ensure there is an open dialogue with Armenia, the Spanish state secretary, Pascual Ignacio Navarro Ríos, said today on behalf of the Council of the EU.
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'Nothing can remain as it was,' Kosovo's foreign minister says amid tensions
Kosovo’s foreign minister today called on western capitals to take action against Serbia.
“What happened on Sunday, 24th of September 2023, was an open act of aggression of Serbia against Republic of Kosova,” deputy prime minister and foreign minister Donika Gërvalla-Schwarz said in a statement to the Guardian.
“This has been proven also in past several days with a mountain of evidence,” she said, adding that “daily Kosovo institutions are uncovering more weapons and military equipment in various places of northern part of Kosova, along the border with Serbia”.
The minister accused Serbia of being “behind the terrorist attack” and said “there are not two sides in this escalation which is a threat not only for Kosova, but also for the entire region”.
“The aim of this aggression was occupying northern Kosova and imposing a partition, which is a goal that Serbia’s government officials have continuously worked for, openly and in secret, for years,” she said.
“You see, while we were engaging in Brussels in what is termed to be a normalisation dialogue, Serbia has been preparing for an invasion of our country. It is only thanks to our police professional and timely response that the terrorist attack has not succeeded.”
“Now, nothing can remain as it was,” the minister said. “We need to see clear actions from EU and the west against Serbia.
“It is incomprehensible how Kosova is being sanctioned still by EU for implementing rule of law, while Serbia is being tolerated in its Donbas-style aggression against a sovereign neighbour.”
Serbia’s leadership has denied responsibility for the deadly shootout in northern Kosovo last month.
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Milan Radoičić arrested
Milan Radoičić, a Kosovo Serb politician who had admitted to involvement in a deadly gun battle with police on 24 September that raised concerns about the region’s stability, has been arrested.
“On 3 October 2023, police officers of the Criminal Police Directorate searched the apartment and other premises of Milan Radoičić, who was ordered to be detained by the police for up to 48 hours,” Serbia’s internal affairs ministry said, according to Serbian news outlet B92.
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Armenia's ICC move to further strain relations with Moscow
Richard Giragosian, the head of the Regional Studies Centre in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, said the country’s decision to ratify the founding treaty of the ICC was the latest sign that Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan was attempting to reduce Moscow’s influence.
“The ICC ratification by Armenia is mainly motivated by its desire to prepare legal challenges against Azerbaijan. But it also sends a clear message to Moscow,” he said. “It is part of a consistent escalation in measures taken by Armenia to stand up for itself and challenge its relationship with Moscow … Yerevan is seeking to diversify its security.”
Last month, Yerevan hosted US troops for an unprecedented joint military exercise. It has also sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine, delivered personally by Pashinyan’s wife, Anna Hakobyan.
Read the full story here.
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EU ambassador stresses locals' role in reducing Kosovo tensions
Tomáš Szunyog, the EU’s ambassador in Kosovo, said that he visited northern Kosovo where he “heard different voices and perspectives on the current situation on the ground.”
“The latest developments are a stark and tragic reminder of what is at stake for the people who live in northern Kosovo, for the safety of all its communities and for the wider region,” he wrote on social media.
The ambassador added that he “underlined the role and importance that local actors have in contributing towards the lowering of tensions at this critical time.”
In a visit to northern 🇽🇰, I heard different voices&perspectives on the current situation on the ground.The latest developments are a stark&tragic reminder of what is at stake for the people who live in northern #Kosovo,for the safety of all its communities& for the wider region.
— Ambassador Tomáš Szunyog (@EUAmbKS) October 3, 2023
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Kremlin reacts to Armenia's ICC move
Armenia has acted in an unpartner-like manner towards Russia, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told a briefing today, Reuters reported.
Earlier in the day, Armenia’s parliament voted to ratify the founding statute of the International Criminal Court, meaning that the country would have to arrest Russian president Vladimir Putin should he visit Armenia.
Peskov said that Moscow regarded Yerevan as an ally, but questioned its current leadership, according to Reuters.
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Both Serbia and Kosovo have responsibility to return to dialogue, MEP says
The European parliament is set to debate the situation in Kosovo and Serbia later this afternoon.
Ahead of the discussion, we asked an MEP who closely follows developments in the region how the tensions are viewed.
“I think both sides have enormous responsibility to make sure that we get back to the dialogue as soon as possible,” said Vladimír Bilčík, a Slovak member of the European parliament, in a phone interview this morning.
Bilčík, who serves as the parliament’s negotiator for Serbia, said that “we need to look carefully at the situation both in Belgrade and Pristina”.
“Unfortunately,” he added, “with the arrival of Albin Kurti to power [in Kosovo] the negotiations have really been stalling and not moving in the direction of finding a solution – and I’m saying this as somebody who is very open in criticism of the Serbian side.”
The recent deadly shootout in northern Serbia is “absolutely abhorrent and unacceptable – and this is really an extremely dangerous situation which indicates that things really could get out of hand. And it is important that de-escalation happens, that there is a full-fledged investigation,” Bilčík said.
“There is a big carrot at stake – and the carrot is the EU membership,” he said. “And if the dialogue doesn’t move on, we will see more conflict, more nationalism, more withdrawal from the world.”
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EU should 'reassess' strategy on Kosovo and Serbia, parliamentarian says
A deadly shootout in northern Kosovo on 24 September and Washington’s warning last week about an “unprecedented” buildup of Serbian troops near the Kosovo border have raised fears about the region’s stability.
And while Serbian military officials said yesterday that Belgrade cut the number of troops on the border, worries persist in western capitals.
“I am deeply concerned about the recent Banjska attack and the potential spill-over escalatory consequences it may have produced,” said Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, a German Green member of the European parliament.
Von Cramon-Taubadel, who is the parliament’s rapporteur on Kosovo, told the Guardian in an email today that “we have been witnessing the deterioration and ultimately stalemate in the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo”.
A top Kosovo Serb politician, Milan Radoičić, had admitted he was involved in the gun battle last month.
“We need to know to what extent and with whose help he has conducted the attack, given the amount of ammunition and armoured vehicle,” Von Cramon-Taubadel said.
And, she said, there needed to be a rethink of Brussels’ approach.
“The EU now must reassess its overall strategy towards the Serbia-Kosovo talks and western Balkans region in general,” she said.
“The current approach, which focuses on economic and political stability, led to the Banjska attack. Instead, we need to prioritise the fundamentals – the rule of law and democracy, and engage more with the progressive voices from across the region,” the parliamentarian said.
“Finally, we need an immediate reinforcement of both Kfor and EUfor – nothing deters better than the presence of robust Nato troops on the ground,” she added.
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France welcomes Armenia's ICC ratification
The French foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, who is visiting Armenia today, welcomed the country’s ratification of the international criminal court’s founding statute.
“The fight against impunity for crimes is a condition for peace and stability,” she wrote on social media.
Depuis Erevan, je salue la décision du Parlement arménien de ratifier le Statut de Rome et de permettre ainsi à l'#Arménie de devenir État partie à la Cour pénale internationale.
— Catherine Colonna (@MinColonna) October 3, 2023
La lutte contre l’impunité des crimes est une condition de la paix et de la stabilité. pic.twitter.com/oeebEuWrsH
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The signs over the weekend suggested that the immediate crisis over Kosovo has been defused.
Some Serbian troops are pulling back from the border, and the threat of a return to armed conflict has receded for now.
The Biden administration acted decisively on Friday, drawing on some of the lessons from the run-up to the Ukraine invasion, going public with US intelligence on Serbian troop movements, and calling Belgrade to threaten sanctions and ostracism. The Nato peacekeeping force, Kfor, was immediately reinforced by the transfer of command of a battalion of British troops who were in the region for training.
While the immediate danger may have passed, however, the chronic crisis over Kosovo continues to fester.
The events of the past week could be an inflection point, depending on whether they lead to a policy rethink in Washington and Brussels.
Read the full story here.
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France's foreign minister arrives in Armenia in show of support
De retour en #Arménie, 5 mois après ma première visite 🇫🇷🇦🇲
— Catherine Colonna (@MinColonna) October 3, 2023
Amitié, soutien et solidarité. pic.twitter.com/AOkBZYrKAi
Eyes on an international mission
Asked about the UN mission in Nagorno-Karabakh, a spokesperson for the US state department said yesterday that “we welcome that mission” and “we continue to work with our allies and partners about what a more long-term mission ought to look like”.
“Around 100,000 ethnic Armenians have left Nagorno-Karabakh, and relocated to Armenia. We believe that they ought – if they wish to return, they ought to have their rights respected, and that there ought to be an international monitoring mission in place to secure that,” the spokesperson said.
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Nagorno-Karabakh capital 'completely deserted', Red Cross says
Only a few hundred people remain in the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) team lead, Marco Succi, said today, Reuters reported.
“The city is now completely deserted,” he said via video link from the Karabakh capital.
“The hospitals … are not functioning; the medical personnel left; the water board authorities left; the director of the morgue also left. So this scenario is quite surreal,” he said.
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French minister heads to Armenia
France’s foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, is visiting Armenia today, where she is expected to meet the prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, and foreign minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, as well as refugees who fled Nagorno-Karabakh.
Ahead of the trip, the French foreign ministry said Colonna would underline France’s support for Armenia’s territorial integrity.
🇪🇺 retour de Kiev 🇺🇦
— Catherine Colonna (@MinColonna) October 3, 2023
🇫🇷 direction l'Arménie 🇦🇲 https://t.co/DeyLwlvAXe pic.twitter.com/JgsHnJsWR6
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Armenia ratifies ICC statute despite Russian opposition
Armenia’s national assembly has ratified the founding statute of the international criminal court.
Russia had previously called the idea “extremely hostile”.
❗️✅ A few moments ago the National Assembly of #Armenia ratified the Rome Statute of the @IntlCrimCourt. The opposition voted against the bill. pic.twitter.com/eVSGhk7jIB
— Sargis Khandanyan (@Khandanyan_S) October 3, 2023
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‘It’s a ghost town’: UN arrives in Nagorno-Karabakh to find ethnic Armenians have fled
Nearly the entire ethnic Armenian population has left Nagorno-Karabakh, as the first United Nations mission arrived in the largely deserted mountainous region on Sunday.
Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN secretary general, said its team on the ground, the first UN mission to the region in 30 years, would “identify the humanitarian needs” both for people remaining and “the people that are on the move”.
Many of the Armenians who fled Nagorno-Karabkah said they felt the international mission’s visit came too late, after Azerbaijan reclaimed the area in a lightning military operation last month.
Sitting on a bench near the central Republic Square in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, Aren Harutyunyan, who left the region known by Armenians as Artsakh last week, blamed the “international community” for the exodus.
“What is there left for the UN to monitor?” said Harutyunyan, 53, who arrived in Yerevan on Friday after a gruelling three-day journey from Stepanakert, the Nagorno-Karabakh capital.
“No one is there any more, everyone is gone, it’s a ghost town.”
Read the full story here.
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Germany calls for 'permanent' international presence in Nagorno-Karabakh
Berlin wants international observers to stay in Nagorno-Karabakh to help build “trust” for civilians.
“It is a positive step that Azerbaijan has allowed UN observers into Nagorno-Karabakh for the first time,” the German foreign office said today.
“They need a permanent presence, as only transparency can build trust in Azerbaijan’s promise to protect the rights of all residents and returnees to the region,” it added.
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Welcome to the blog
Good morning and welcome back to the Europe live blog.
Today we will be looking at the latest on two crises that have raised concern across Europe: the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh and tensions between Kosovo and Serbia.
The European parliament is set to debate both issues later today.
Send your comments to lili.bayer@theguardian.com.
