Selim Ibraimi- Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić has lashed out at Turkey after it decided to send special drones to Kosovo. Turkey delivered thousands of Skydagger drones to Kosovo three months ahead of schedule. Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić accused Turkey of violating the UN Charter and Resolution 1244, claiming it seeks to revive Ottoman ambitions and undermine stability in the Balkans. “Serbia is a small country, but we have clearly understood the message!”, serbian president Vučić wrote on the X network. Kosovo prime minister Albin Kurti and president Vjosa Osmani praised the military shipment for strengthening Kosovo’s self-defense, while Vučić later softened his criticism of Turkey.
Relations between Turkey and Serbia have historically been based on economic and military interests. Before 2000, relations between the two countries were at a low level due to the wars in the former Yugoslav space, and later rose after the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic. Turkish president Recep T. Erdogan, during an official visit to Serbia (2024), emphasized the potential for cooperation in the defense industry. “Turkey and Serbia should work together to increase cooperation in the defense industry, ensuring peace and stability in the region,” said president Erdogan.
Also, before the arrival of the drones, president Vučić assessed Turkey as “the greatest power in the Balkans” with optimism for deepening ties with Turkey in the field of defense and economy. Turkey and Serbia have signed dozens of cooperation agreements aimed at strengthening ties in various fields, including energy, trade, technology, defense etc. In this regard, the High-Level Cooperation Council between Turkey and Serbia, established in 2017, aims to strengthen this cooperation further. During 2022, Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, visited Serbia twice. The visits of high-ranking turkish officials indicate stable relations between the two countries, not a deterioration in relations.
Bilateral trade reached 1.73 billion euros in 2021, with turkish investments in Serbia totaling over 220 million euros by 2021, mainly in energy, construction, and manufacturing. According to the UN Comtrade database, Turkey’s exports of arms, ammunition, and parts to Serbia were $13.84 million in 2024. During the Turkish President Erdogan’s last visit to Serbia (2024), the Serbian portal NIN in Belgrade reported that Turkey is Serbia’s fourth-largest import partner and 14th-largest export partner in the first half of 2024, with a total foreign trade between the two countries amounting to approximately 1.4 billion euros. Serbian exports totaled 416.9 million euros, while imports amounted to 974.9 million euros.
Serbian-Turkish relations, despite Serbian reactions, are at an all-time high. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Turkey has played a crucial role in the Balkan region with financial and military support, including North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, etc. Turkey was an active participant in the 1999 NATO military offensive against Serbia and has participated in peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and the region. Turkey has not officially commented on the latter, but the Kosovo government has defended Turkey’s purchase of drones. The drones are not intended for KFOR forces but to increase the defensive capabilities of the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) against threats not only from Serbia.
Turkey has been the rotating head of KFOR command in Kosovo since October 2023, deploying peacekeeping troops to the border strip between Kosovo and Serbia. Although serbian president Vučić and Foreign Minister Đurić have accused Turkey and Kosovo, Serbia, at least in the last decade, has pursued an advanced arms purchase from the West, China, Russia, Israel, and other countries, which makes Serbia the largest arms buyer and supplier in the region. Thus, Serbian reactions have not been considered as attentive by KFOR and the EU, since Serbia has deepened military pacts with friendly countries by accepting weapons. Analysts in the region say that the Serbian reaction should be seen in the light of the Albania-Kosovo-Croatia military axis that alarmed Serbia in the summer. Analysts say that Serbia sees things from the angle of old hostilities. The Serbian reaction should be seen more as a result of internal political developments than a real tension in relations with Turkey.
Other observers say that the recent statements by Serbian officials precisely demonstrate serbian efforts to single out Kosovo as malicious, which, according to Belgrade, “endangers regional stability and the Serbian minority in Kosovo”. Turkey and Serbia have had a troubled history during the rule of the Ottoman Empire. After the Battle of Marica (1371), the Ottoman conquest was inevitable. Serbia was forced from a kingdom to the position of a vassal state and then to a complete conquest by the Ottoman Empire. The situation culminated in the weakening of the Ottomans in Europe and in the Balkans, where uprisings against the Ottomans had erupted from all sides. The Serbian uprisings (1804–1817) and then the Balkan uprisings closed a stage of the Balkan states’ dependence on the Ottoman Empire, which was heading towards disintegration. By the 14th century, Serbia emerged as a regional power under the Nemanja Dynasty, reaching its peak under the reign of Stefan Dushan. Before 1370, Ottoman-Serbian ties were weak. They took a major boost during the 20th century with its ups and downs. Historical grievances between neighboring countries in the Balkans and other factors have influenced Serbia’s behavior towards Kosovo, and we can also say about Turkey’s role in the Balkans. Despite Serbian reactions, pragmatism has dominated Serbian-Turkish relations and much less other ties. From this perspective, the recent events in Serbian-Turkish relations should be viewed. Otherwise, the Serbian war in Kosovo, regardless of the purpose of the drones, will continue inside and outside the region. In the end, the website of the company “Baykartech” provides details on the capacity of the “Skydagger” drones with payload (2–5 kg), range (10 km), flight time (36 minutes), and speed (130 km/h).
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