Schröder, as a peacekeeper for the Balkans

2022-08-12 19:56:08Pikëpamje SHKRUAR NGA GERTA BANUSHI
Gerhard Schroeder

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has sued the German parliament, after the latter removed his privileges, due to his closeness to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Gerhard Schröder was chancellor of Germany in the years 1998-2005 and today he is one of the most talked about politicians in Germany and in the world, after his close ties with Putin and his pro-Russian positions on the war in Ukraine.

But his successor, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, was asked by reporters at a press conference on Thursday whether former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder could be useful as a mediator with the Russian regime, whether to halt attacks in Ukraine or gas supplies, his answer was: "I don't know". The real reason whether Schröder would be valuable as a mediator between the West and Russia is only known to the German government, but the odds are slim. Perhaps Germany will use Schröder as a last resort in case things get even worse, at least publicly.

"Putin's friend" if today he addresses the German Bundestag with a lawsuit, once, on April 17, 1999, he addressed the German Parliament with the words: "We want the humanitarian catastrophe and the serious and systematic violation of human rights to end as soon as possible . We want to reach a peaceful political solution for Kosovo". This speech would pave the way for NATO forces to end the Kosovo war once and for all. Germany's contribution in those years was irreplaceable. That same year, former Chancellor Schröder met in Bonn, Germany, with former Albanian Prime Minister Pandeli Majko, where he promised to help Albania as well. After that day, Schröder met with both Ilir Meta and Edi Rama, where he repeatedly conveyed messages for stability in the region and the fastest possible integration into the European Union.

In the hot days of this summer, the tensions between Belgrade and Pristina seem more and more to be a derivative of the Russia-Ukraine war. The Balkans need stability, peace and unshakable security, not Putin and Zelensky in miniature.

If it is very difficult for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to use the "underprivileged" Schröder as a lobbyist for Russian gas, for politics in Kosovo and for official Tirana, a decision remains to be considered. As he did when he led the German government in the difficult year of 1999, to serve as a peacekeeper in this Balkan region of ours, where the fuse of the gunpowder is easily ignited. Many negotiators and chief negotiators from the USA and the EU are not reaching fruitful agreements between Pristina and Belgrade. The wounds of the Kosovo war are very fresh, another conflict would be intolerable.

Schröder could have great influence in the Kremlin, if not for Russian gas and the invasion of Ukraine, let him be remembered as a statesman who made a valuable contribution by ending the Kosovo war in 1999 and as the politician who did not allow a conflict new and unrest in the Balkans, lobbying in the first place with the chancelleries of Tirana, Pristina, Sarajevo and Belgrade and the privileges lost in Berlin will be able to win them in the Balkans.

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