The frozen conflict between Serbia and Kosovo has come dangerously close to heating up again in recent weeks. First, an armed standoff between Serb gunmen and Kosovo authorities in the north of the country left three assailants and one police officer dead. Then, just a few days later, the White House warned of an unprecedented buildup of Serbian troops along the border with Kosovo, raising concerns that war might be about to return to the Balkans.
Washington vaguely warned Belgrade that it could face possible punitive measures if it didn’t withdraw its forces. Fortunately, the response was immediate and Serbia’s often stubborn president, Aleksandar Vucic, wasted no time in pulling back his military.
This wasn’t the first time that the Serbia-Kosovo dispute led to a troop surge, and Vucic often uses this as a scare tactic when the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina isn’t going his way. But what was noteworthy this time was how quickly he followed orders when they came from Washington, which is a stark contrast from the foot-dragging and feigned compliance that he usually shows Brussels, which doesn’t tend to issue threats and warnings the way Washington does. What this shows is that, when the United States slams its fist on the table, Vucic listens.
