How fragile is the peace between Serbs and Kosovars?

After weeks of protests, ethnic Serbs in Kosovo have agreed to take down the barricades amidst hopes of tensions easing.

Kosovo’s uneasy peace has again come under threat – this time from protests by ethnic Serbs that lasted weeks.

A single incident – the detention of a former Kosovo Serb police officer – ended up drawing in the United States, the European Union and Serbia to defuse a dangerous standoff.

Keep reading

Kosovo minister sees Russian influence in growing Serbian tension

Protesting Serbs in northern Kosovo start removing barricades

Kosovo shuts main border crossing with Serbia amid protests

Kosovo-Serbia tensions: Mood on the ground, possible scenarios

The former officer’s arrest led to spiralling violence, with gunfire, arson attacks and ethnic Serbs blocking roads with barricades.

They are now being taken down, but the political barriers remain.

So can peace return?

Presenter: Imran Khan

Guests:

Mimoza Kusari-Lila – Former deputy prime minister of Kosovo, current member of parliament

Helena Ivanov – Associate research fellow at Henry Jackson Society and a Serbia analyst

Florian Bieber – Professor of Southeast European History and Politics, director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz, Austria