Kosovo: diversion against Russia

The historian and political scientist, the associate professor of the department of comparative political science of Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Elena Ponomareva is the recognized expert across the Balkans. She has defended the dissertations on themes “Disintegration of the Yugoslavian model of federalism” and “Statehood formation on post-Yugoslavian space: internal and external factors”. She has written the books on these subject matters: “Political development of post-Yugoslavian space (internal and external factors)”, “New states on the Balkans”, “Arch lands of instability: the Balkans - the Central Asia”.

At the instance of the portal “The World and We”, the known political scientist has told what the self-proclaimed state Kosovo corresponds and why it has appeared in general.

Elena Ponomareva is convinced:

- The history and factors of Kosovo gambit testify that krai declaration of independence is the brightest precedent on creation of operated and dependent state formation. Almost 16 thousand military men of the NATO are already placed in Kosovo. By data from would-be NATO structures, this contingent can be increased to 30 thousand people.

The billions of dollars pass to Kosovo, but they are spent not for improvement of life of common people for the sake of which the observance of the rights and unprecedented military intervention of the NATO in the sovereignty of the European state, at first Union republic of Yugoslavia and then Serbia has been carried out ostensibly.

- Why the creation of “Kosovo state” became the event, the value and consequences of which, how we already marked, acting earlier in mass-media, are beyond not only actually Serbia and the Balkans as a whole, but even the limits of Europe?

- Firstly, the Muslim polity has appeared in Europe for last three hundred years for the first time. Secondly, “Kosovo state” is created as a result of aggression of the USA/NATO against the sovereign state, disguised under “the humanitarian aid”. The military-political operation of the USA/NATO against the Union Republic of Yugoslavia and, first of all, Serbia is the first direct and obvious aggression against the European state from the moment of the Second World War termination.

Thirdly, “Kosovo state” is created by external forces, namely by the USA and the EU countries in their strategic interests.
Fourthly, “Kosovo state” creation has been dictated by the interests of the Transnational Corporation.
Fifthly, the interests not only of the USA and the American Transnational Corporations, but also the Albanian mafia and segments of world criminal system standing up for it and the international terrorism have coincided in the creation of “Kosovo state”. Kosovo is a vivid example of the drug and terrorist state and also can be put in one number with Afghanistan (namely Kabul the first recognized independence of krai not without reason), Colombia, Sudan.
Sixthly, the creation of “Kosovo state” is a bright example of realization by the West of “strategy of operated chaos”, one of the first cases of the beginning of export of geopolitical instability by the United States to Europe.
Seventhly, Kosovo is the most interesting case of a phenomenon of “state-ghost”, “state-phantom” from the point of view of development of power structures of the globalization epoch.

And finally, the last. The Balkans is a range on approbation of new technologies of struggle of the West with the main psycho-historical opponent — Russia. Russia isn't simply surrounded by the most powerful military bases of the NATO. The information and propaganda and intellectual war which is conducted against Russia in the countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and the Central Asia, is more terrible in many senses than the military superiority because the generation is born in it which is not knowing the history and brought up on ideological myths and demonizing our country. The competition reaches the unprecedented sizes not only for resources, but also for consciousness during an epoch of globalization. Kosovo is a vivid example and, to the greatest regret, not unique.

- It was much told about natural resources of Kosovo. What is abundant of?

- According to available resources, Kosovo hasn't equal on the Balkans, and possibly, in all Europe. Deposits of lead, zinc, nickel, cadmium, bauxites, manganese, halloysite, selenium and quartz are especially rich. The deposit of lead and zinc ores of the krai, investigated in 80th years of XX century made 52 % of Yugoslavian wide resources, nickel — 50 %, magnesite — 35 %, lignites (brown coal) — 53 %, bismuth — 100 %. 15 % of Yugoslavian wide manufacture of sulfuric acid, 60 % of silver, 30 % of zinc, 63 % of the refined lead fell on Kosovo.

According to World Bank, the cost of mineral resources of Kosovo prior to the beginning of financial crisis made more than 19 billion dollars. Experts of civil mission of the United Nations in Kosovo believe that the stocks only of lignite make 8,3 billion tons, the Serbian experts consider that they reach 14 billion tons that gives the chance to Kosovo to make their operation within 150–200 years. The stocks of tin and zinc ores are estimated in 42,2 million tons (it three times more than in the rest of Serbia), nickel and cobalt — in 13,3 million tons, bauxites — in 1,7 million tons, magnesite — in 5,4 million tons. These figures impress and open a resource component of Kosovo question to us.


In the conditions of a gradual aggravation of a world competition for mineral resources the version about external management of this territory is represented rather logical. Otherwise nobody started the separation of krai from Serbia. The variant of preservation of Kosovo in jurisdiction of Belgrad with the subsequent acceptance of Serbia to the big Europe didn't suit the USA and the Transnational Corporation. The “internationalization” of the Serbian resources looks more preferably. Actually, it is that variant of reception of access to raw materials which after the wreck of the bipolar world became rather popular in the main agents of globalization.

- But whether there is a serious industrial base for development of these resources in Kosovo?

- After the war of 1999 and division of krai into occupational zones, Kosovo almost makes nothing, the export covers only 6 % of import. They make a joke in reply in Prishtina: “We manufacture a policy, it is our main goods”.
The service is on the first place which makes more than 70 % of krai economy. Only some enterprises work from nearby 350 more or less large industrial enterprises, though their majority is privatized. There basic branch of economy, namely agriculture is in decline.

According to the informal statistics, 75 % of the population of Kosovo, who is younger than thirty five years, is unemployed that it is necessary to consider as potential and real danger not only to statehood, but also to safety of the whole region. The economic situation in Kosovo is very difficult. The youth leaves in shadow and criminal sectors which, by the most optimistic estimations, make 20–30 % of krai economy and actually more than 60 %.

In 2007 the budget of the United Nations for Kosovo was 150 million euro. It is indicative that the economy of Kosovo has received 370 million euro from the Albanians living abroad. This help is the basic legal source of the finance of Kosovo. These figures simply aren't comparable neither to requirements of krai, nor with its debts, with real incomes which are given by the drug traffic, passing the krai too much.

- It is considered that the main route of transportation of drugs to Europe passes through Kosovo …

- According to the most conservative estimates, the annual turnover of drug production reaches 1 billion euro. Ten years ago the Interpol has established that the Albanian criminal structures control about 70 % of the heroin market in Germany and Switzerland. At the present moment the figure of 90% appears in different sources and it concerns all European states. The channels of transportation of drugs through the Balkans have incorporated to the routes beginning in South East Asia. The main route of transportation known as the Balkan, passes 80 % of the drugs intended for sale in Europe. The opium which has been grown up in Afghanistan and Pakistan (the center of a so-called Gold Crescent), is overworked in Turkey and then direct to other regions of Europe through the former Yugoslavia and Czech Republic.

The struggle against the drug traffic becomes complicated not only by the width of compatriotic, commercial and related communications rallying the Albanian diaspora in Europe which totals more than 5 million people, but also direct interest of the Transnational Corporation and some states.

- And there is also the geopolitics!

- Many events reveal in an especially way through a prism of a power policy. For example, in 2001, the building of the 920-kilometer Transbalkan oil pipeline has begun which should be placed in operation in 2005.

The power component of a Kosovan question is directly connected with military-prospecting. Company "Наlliburton" has constructed the largest American military base Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo since Vietnam. It is less than for three years Bondsteel has turned in independent base, furnished with state-of-the-art equipment from a camp placed on 400 hectares near to Macedonian border, where already more than 7000 military men are concentrated— three quarters of total of the American military men in Kosovo. 55 helicopters “Black falcon” and “Apache” are based here.

Problems which urged to solve Bondsteel, are closely connected with project АМВО financed by the Americans. Bondsteel in aggregate with other, less large bases which will be constructed along a prospective line of oil pipeline AMVO, is a direct and conscious call to Russia, both in strategic and in economic sense.

Considering that fact that 80 % of cost of oil consist of expenses on its transportation, it is necessary to agree with opinion that global wars of ХХI century will be century wars for routes of transportation of energy carriers. Even the passing glance on an economic and military-prospecting component of “independence” of Kosovo gives the grounds to draw a conclusion that it isn't primitively ethnocentric. The Kosovan gambit was planned and played exclusively in interests of leading players of capitalist system and, unfortunately, without Russia.