Kosovo should decide based on its own interests on the American gas project, Serwer says

American professor Daniel Serwer believes that the project for American gas in Kosovo should be examined with particular care and on the basis of the country’s strategic interests.

Commenting on the fact that the Government of Kosovo has still not accepted this project, he said in an interview that American gas is expensive. According to him, it is understandable why the United States of America is interested in such an agreement, but he stressed that the final decision should be made by Kosovo itself.

“American gas is very expensive. I understand why the Americans want Kosovo to take it. It would help complete the picture in the Balkans. And this administration, this American administration, is a transactional administration. It wants to make deals. So I think Kosovo should talk to the Americans, but I also think Kosovo should take its own interests into account and make a decision on that basis,” he said.

In the part of the interview related to the statement by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who has defended Milan Radoičić, Serwer said he has confidence in the judicial system to deal with this issue, while describing Vučić’s comments as driven by political interest.

“I have full confidence in the judicial system here to deal with this issue. I think Mr. Vučić is saying things for his own political benefit, instead of doing what he should do, which is to renounce the Banjska incident and prosecute it himself. The Serbian judicial system should prosecute the perpetrators,” he said.

Serwer also spoke about the institutional crisis in Kosovo, which he said has cost the country important time because of political instability and lengthy electoral processes.

“Everyone is fed up with the crisis. Everyone thinks they have lost something from this year, a year and a half from three rounds of elections. And I think that is true. I think it has not been a productive time. This happens especially in parliamentary systems. Frankly, the United States has also had a difficult time over the last year and a half. But it is time, you know, for our institutions to be a bit more consolidated than Kosovo’s institutions,” he said.

At the same time, he sent the message that the moment has now come for Kosovo’s institutions to show that they are capable of functioning, through the election of a president and the formation of a new government.