Kosovo on a global stage. Conversation with Drilon S. Gashi [PODSAST]

What is Kosovo's way to EU membership? What should we know about Kosovo's conflict for independence? What geopolitical tensions in the Western Balkans should we know about? And what is the situation of Kosovoians in Warsaw? Leszek Jażdżewski has been speaking with Ambassador Drilon S. Gashi, Head of Mission of the Consulate General of the Republic of Kosovo in Warsaw since December 2023. He founded the General Consulate of Kosovo as the first always diplomatic/consular mission of his country in Poland, himself being the first highest-level diplomat in Kosovo in the country.

Leszek Jażdżewski (LJ): Based on your own experience, what things do people frequently presume incorrect about Kosovo?

Drilon S. Gashi (DSG): Firstly, Kosovo is simply a complex place with a complex history, which could possibly discourage people from taking an interest in this place or before having a clear opinion on Kosovo. Secondly, the war that took place 26 years ago is inactive alive in people's memory erstwhile we ask them about Kosovo. Therefore, they see us solely through the prism of politics and history.

Although war is simply a very crucial part of our past and heritage, we are much more than just that war. We want to share everything that makes us interesting and unique, going beyond past itself, and especially sharing those elements of our past that we are very arrogant of. At the minute of our independence, we have rather ambitious plans for our future.

LJ: Kosovo was very close to the West during a full Russian invasion of Ukraine. How does Kosovo see its place in a wider European safety architecture?

DSG: In a sense, Kosovo was previously the beneficiary of massive support from the West – political, military and value. I do not think that we can live in an independent country today, if not for the fact that there is strong consensus in the countries seen as the West (the United States and the leading European countries) about what the result would be for us in terms of not only our political position but besides our place in Europe and in the world.

That is why the Russian aggression on Ukraine was an chance for us to express our support for the first time as an independent state on a substance that was very close to us. Our leaders (President Vjos Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti) openly expressed their support for Ukraine.

For the first time in past we have offered an extended accommodation program for 5,000 refugees from Ukraine in Kosovo. It may be a tiny number compared to Poland or another places in Europe, but for us it is the biggest commitment we have always made under specified a programme. And due to the fact that just after the war, the million Kosovoans were refugees (at least a million but most likely much more), this was of large importance to our identity.

It was besides crucial that, although Ukraine was a country that had either not taken a position on Kosovo's independency or might not have been in favour of our cause, it was of no importance to political or public support for Ukraine, which I besides felt was encouraging. And so, for example, the flag of Ukraine blows proudly at the Grand Hotel in Kosovo, which is the most central point in our capital. This shows that we are inactive supporting Ukraine.

Furthermore, we are trying to usage our voice to say that this is the minute to strengthen the European safety architecture. Recently, NATO has supported increased defence spending by all EU countries. However, we believe that at the minute we request to re-engage in favour of the countries that are now part of this infrastructure and to open up to more countries joining the European and Nattarian safety infrastructure – it must necessarily be Ukraine, Kosovo and another places that aim to this end in the east or south of Europe.

LJ: erstwhile you joined the abroad service, what was it like to direct a abroad policy of a country that is inactive not clearly considered an independent state? What strategies is Kosovo utilizing to make more countries internationally (including European) recognise Kosovo's independence, given that 5 EU countries inactive do not recognise it?

DSG: Seventeen years since we became independent. Around 120 countries around the planet considered Kosovo an independent state. We have joined many global financial institutions. We hope that we will shortly start joining the main European institutions, starting with the Council of Europe and, of course, the European Union, and then the United Nations.

There are respective reasons why we had to follow this unique course of individual designation of our independence. Above all, this is unfortunately due to Russia's withdrawal from the peace process, in which it was besides active in Kosovo's future position and then to sabotaging our efforts to join the UN and another agencies.

As a result, the burden of work lies with all our ambassadors and diplomats. We must have thick skin and not be discouraged that we are not always invited to certain clubs or parties. We can't let that discourage us. We must be very committed and very active. Personally, I effort to show it by serving in Poland.

However, there are any challenges to working for a country that seeks to strengthen its global position. Nevertheless, it is besides a large privilege to be able to talk at a crucial minute in the past of your country. This is what makes me enthusiastic about building very strong relations with Poland all day, as well as representing Kosovo as part of bilateral and multilateral initiatives in Poland, frequently involving all European countries or many countries in the world. All of this means that we are faced with any rather circumstantial challenges, but this is an additional reason for us to effort to separate ourselves.

When I spoke to my colleagues in Washington who work abroad, it became clear that we are trying to stand out through activity and innovation and we are truly trying to pay affirmative attention to our country. So possibly these challenges caused us to have superior diplomatic and abroad service. However, we must proceed this, due to the fact that we inactive have a lot to do.

One of the main objectives for which I joined the abroad service was that we want to be a associate of the EU or NATO, but we must accomplish this ourselves. Therefore, the more people join these efforts and support the country's main initiatives, the closer we will be to this objective. And we will scope him. It was hard to get independence, but we did it. Similarly, we will get membership in these very crucial institutions.

LJ: What are the obstacles and obstacles facing Kosovo to becoming part of the European Union?

DSG: It is clear that in order to become a associate of the European Union, it is essential to present its case to all EU members so that they can support the many stages of this process. Unfortunately, the fact that 5 countries inactive do not recognise Kosovo as an independent state besides means that they do not support advancement in our integration process with the EU.

We are aware of this, and we are trying to act in specified a way that bringing Kosovo closer to the EU does not prejudge this decision for the time being, and nevertheless it has brought any benefits to both our country and us as a possible partner (economic and not only) for the European Union. We hope that we can find ways to unlock the process that we are inactive entering and then get a decision to recognise us by these countries erstwhile we are much closer to actually joining the EU.

As for another aspects of our improvement process, we are doing rather well – especially in fresh years, which is large news. These developments are reflected in the yearly EU advancement reports as well as in another statistic monitored over the year. This growth trend has late been praised by Commissioner Kos and has besides been mentioned at higher levels by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in the context of our economical progress. Therefore, many of these very nonsubjective indicators are now affirmative for us.

However, there is simply a 3rd additional factor, which is our bilateral relations with Serbia. Of course, any country wishing to join the EU must settle its bilateral disputes during this process. There has besides been advancement in this respect, although we inactive gotta fight the belief that this is not the case. However, in this area, it should be taken into account that sometimes leaving 2 countries alone is simply a prerequisite for accession, not a real approximation of them and a genuine "incentive" for both countries to improve political relations. We request to think about it more. possibly in our case there are ways to bring Kosovo and Serbia closer to the EU, and this in itself could supply the impetus needed to overcome the remaining obstacles in bilateral relations.

LJ: We have late witnessed many protests in Belgrade and more. Could this change the autocratic course chosen by Serbia and affect its political future? To what degree is the future of Serbia and Kosovo linked?

DSG: Officially, our government and the authorities are careful about ongoing protests throughout Serbia and do not express besides many opinions on this issue. However, erstwhile it comes to the perception of Kosovo, there is likely to be a consensus among our citizens that stronger democracy and the regulation of law in Serbia are beneficial for both Kosovo and Serbia's relations with the full region. This besides has a direct impact on Serbia's EU membership perspective, as a more democratic Serbia with a greater regulation of law will besides be much more inclined to join the European Union, where it sees its natural place.

Protests are highly resilient. They have been going on for about a year, and protesters have found a way to keep the importance of their voice under very hard conditions. It will be interesting to observe the lasting impact they will have in the final analysis. Overall, more active civilian society is surely a affirmative consequence of these events. It seems to be something that can be sustained well. See if this changes Serbia's political course from within.

There is surely a link between these interior changes and our relations with Serbia, as well as both countries' road to the EU. They're connected. However, it is crucial to keep links with all the countries in the region which are seeking to join the European Union, but not to the degree that 1 of them is full hampered by the deficiency of the will of the other. So this is kind of an indirect scenario. We want the region to decision in a certain direction, but we do not want 1 country to act unintentionally to the detriment of another.

We frequently point out to the public in Europe and another countries that the support for Kosovo's EU membership is 97% in our country. We have no political parties opposed to the presence in the EU. Importantly, there are besides no political parties opposing Kosovo in Serbia. All this shows that we are having a affirmative minute in our liberal democracy and we hope that it will be supported and will not be taken for granted. As we could see in another places, if this situation lasts besides long, then we may not be able to always have specified affirmative results. And this, in fact, is in the interest of the full region.

Kosovo presently has 1.6 million inhabitants. The full region has about 17 million inhabitants. As such, it is smaller than the average EU country. Therefore, the benefits outweigh the risks associated with considering the accession of the full Western Balkans to the EU, peculiarly those countries which are very persistent in their efforts to join and make efforts to do so.

LJ: What challenges and opportunities do you have for Ambassador Kosovo in Warsaw? How has Kosovo's experience of independency changed society? Can the planet proceed to learn from the solidarity and peace movements? How can this message echo around the world?

DSG: As for my work in Warsaw, I can honestly say that there is no place where I would alternatively represent my country more than in Poland. I say this with full honesty and with all due respect to Washington, Paris and another large capitals around the planet – including capitals in the Far East.

This is an highly crucial relation for us in many respects due to Poland's very fundamental position towards Kosovo, which remains consistent. However, we are inactive at the beginning of the road to building productive bilateral relations that we can establish.

My function is to make the most solid basis for peculiar relations between Kosovo and Poland. possibly a fewer years ago, quite a few people didn't think about these relationships that way, but I think we can do that. That's why I'm full active in this relationship.

When it comes to strengthening our independency and fighting for its designation abroad, I draw quite a few inspiration from the example of Poland. Poland knows precisely what it was like to regain independency about a 100 years ago and then reconstruct it again 30 years ago. Therefore, our message, our situation, meets here, in Poland, with a very strong consequence – especially erstwhile people learn more about the details of our history, our cause, our right to independence, about all this. This is truly crucial in this part of Europe.

Often, due to this in-depth knowing of the conflict for political independence, culture and identity are of large importance. It is now Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression. We must not forget the importance of this experience for our friends in the west. And why accession to the EU and NATO is peculiarly important, due to the fact that it restores independence, identity, protection of culture, which any countries, unfortunately, must constantly fight and defend.

Sometimes you gotta effort to adjust any aspects to make it easier in the future. What can aid to double the efforts of all those active in representing our country and wanting to prosecute our ambitions is that there have been many others who have tried to do the same in another areas (although possibly not in diplomacy), and there will be many others after us. Right now, we're the ones holding the baton and we request to make a large effort to decision forward. Of course, this involves any challenges, but this is the chance to have even a tiny affirmative impact on the course of our country's history. I hope that more people will share this opinion and join these efforts.

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Dr. Olga Łabendowicz translated from English

Read English at 4liberty.eu