China’s Global Times daily published an unsigned editorial commentary on Wednesday night, charging that “U.S.-led NATO” is purposefully inciting renewed conflict between Kosovo and Serbia, with the geopolitical intent of driving Russia and China out of the Balkans region by breaking Serbia’s firm, independent policy of friendly relations with both nations.
“NATO cannot tolerate the influence of China and Russia in the Balkans, a sensitive geopolitical hot spot. As a result, the US intends to suppress Serbia, and Kosovo is an important card to serve this end,” Global Times writes.
“Kosovo is a time bomb planted by the US to fan the flames when needed to serve its own geopolitical purposes,” in GT’s view. Although the Kosovo war was ended, the “blasting fuse has not been dismantled…. And against the backdrop of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the ‘invisible hand’ of US-led NATO is inciting the regional conflict on purpose.”
Global Times warns Europe: “If the US further incites and intensifies the Kosovo situation, it will not benefit Europe. Although observers predict that the most intense scenario will be limited to the Balkans, it will also impair the interests of the whole Europe. As Europeans have already fallen into energy and economic crisis when following Washington to support Ukraine, they are not willing to see another military clash,” the paper noted. “The escalation of the tensions will put Europe in a terribly passive position in the future international strategic structure.”
