Το ζήτημα του Κοσσυφοπεδίου : ειρηνική διευθέτηση και ελληνικά συμφέροντα

Abstract

A number of major Greek interests depend on the Kossovo problem’s being
peacefully resolved in accordance with international law. Should this thorny
issue reach the point of armed conflict, there would probably be widespread
destabilisation throughout the southern Balkans, with obvious repercussions on
the security interests of Greece. The most serious might be a surge of Albanian
refugees from Kossovo, who would inevitably move through FYROM and
Albania towards Greece, and seriously exacerbate the already acute problems
caused by the large number of Albanian immigrants already in Greece. It is also
very likely that the Albanian government would direct some of the Kossovo
refugees towards various parts of Northern Epirus (southern Albania), thus
giving rise to problems with the local Greek minority, and this would sharply
aggravate Greek-Albanian relations. Furthermore, negative developments in
Kossovo would undermine the stability of FYROM and permit extra-Balkan forces to intervene, and also strengthen the influence of Islamicist ideas among
the Albanian Moslems. By contrast, a stabilised situation in Kossovo would lead
to geopolitical stability in the region as a whole, and this would in turn promote
economic development, in which Greece could have a leading part to play.
Lastly, any change of boundaries in the region is to be avoided, for this could set
a negative example for other areas of ethnic and minority strife in the Balkans,
in Central Europe, and in the countries of the former Soviet Union.