Reading up on recent disturbing noises from the Balkans, do you think it might all kick off again with a butterfly wing event similar to the Sarajevo assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914?
Greece and (the former Yugoslav republic of) Macedonia, which is shortened to FYROM, have just about cobbled together a complex deal which allows for FYROM to join NATO.
After decades of obstruction, Greece has accepted FYROM can change its name to North Macedonia. This is extremely contentious stuff in Balkanology. The land of Alexander the Great is forever in Greece, as far as the Greeks are concerned, NOT some non-Greek place next door which might harbour Albanian-style ambitions to create a 'greater' Macedonia.
Citizens of FYROM, which was indeed once a federal republic inside Titoist Yugoslavia, called Macedonia, but NOT an independent State, understandably don't like the description FYROM. The majority Macedonians amongst them want an unambiguous 'Macedonia'. Minority ethnic populations of Albanians, Bulgars, Serbs, and Greeks, keep a wary eye on how 'nationalist' this urge might be. Ethnicity and nationalism in the Balkans has led to extreme disaster and bloodshed on massive scales.
Now the Skopje government is to hold a Referendum - a "consultative" plebisicite, please note, EU Remoaners. FYROM voters are to be asked if they want to join NATO and the EU, in which case they have to support the name change to 'North Macedonia'.
Because if they don't, Greece will block their NATO and EU membership applications. But Greece is relatively happy with North Macedonia so it supports Skopje's Referendum.
Step in Moscow and possibly Belgrade. The Russians have been up to their 'electoral meddling' trickery in little FYROM, to whip up a rejection vote of 'No' to NATO, 'No' to the EU and 'No' the the name change.
This has upset the Greeks big-time, and they've booted out a few Russian diplomats. This from a country which did NOT boot out any Russian diplomats in solidarity with the UK over Salisbury.
Outraged the Greeks have impugned their dignity and reputation, the Russians, traditionally solid friends of fellow Orthodox Greece, have abruptly cancelled an official visit to their Hellenic cousins by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Meanwhile an earthquake's tremor away in tiny Montenegro, another former Yugoslav republic, Russia not only stands accused of an attempted coup d'etat in 2016, but playing up worries that Montenegro's recent NATO membership is meaningless - after US President Trump agreed on US TV that he could see no point in sending any US military to risk their lives in defence of Montenegro. "Would you send your son to die for Montenegro," Trump was asked on Fox TV, to which he replied straightforwardly enough: "No".
Russia was strongly opposed, as was Serbia, to Montenegro joining NATO in 2016, hence the coup d'etat plot in Podgorica (formerly Titograd), as Russia is against anyone joining NATO.
But we have to ask ourselves as NATO members too - would we really lay down our lives to defend a piece of land in Kotor, or Lake Ochrid? Why is NATO so keen to expand into these sorts of territories? Why does the EU keep wanting to expand into these sorts of places?
It is little short of miraculous that there has been so little turbulence since the end of the Kosovo conflict in the Balkans. Has peace and love entered the bloodstream of Balkans peoples, or is a slow burning furnace beginning to heat up?
Greece and (the former Yugoslav republic of) Macedonia, which is shortened to FYROM, have just about cobbled together a complex deal which allows for FYROM to join NATO.
After decades of obstruction, Greece has accepted FYROM can change its name to North Macedonia. This is extremely contentious stuff in Balkanology. The land of Alexander the Great is forever in Greece, as far as the Greeks are concerned, NOT some non-Greek place next door which might harbour Albanian-style ambitions to create a 'greater' Macedonia.
Citizens of FYROM, which was indeed once a federal republic inside Titoist Yugoslavia, called Macedonia, but NOT an independent State, understandably don't like the description FYROM. The majority Macedonians amongst them want an unambiguous 'Macedonia'. Minority ethnic populations of Albanians, Bulgars, Serbs, and Greeks, keep a wary eye on how 'nationalist' this urge might be. Ethnicity and nationalism in the Balkans has led to extreme disaster and bloodshed on massive scales.
Now the Skopje government is to hold a Referendum - a "consultative" plebisicite, please note, EU Remoaners. FYROM voters are to be asked if they want to join NATO and the EU, in which case they have to support the name change to 'North Macedonia'.
Because if they don't, Greece will block their NATO and EU membership applications. But Greece is relatively happy with North Macedonia so it supports Skopje's Referendum.
Step in Moscow and possibly Belgrade. The Russians have been up to their 'electoral meddling' trickery in little FYROM, to whip up a rejection vote of 'No' to NATO, 'No' to the EU and 'No' the the name change.
This has upset the Greeks big-time, and they've booted out a few Russian diplomats. This from a country which did NOT boot out any Russian diplomats in solidarity with the UK over Salisbury.
Outraged the Greeks have impugned their dignity and reputation, the Russians, traditionally solid friends of fellow Orthodox Greece, have abruptly cancelled an official visit to their Hellenic cousins by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Meanwhile an earthquake's tremor away in tiny Montenegro, another former Yugoslav republic, Russia not only stands accused of an attempted coup d'etat in 2016, but playing up worries that Montenegro's recent NATO membership is meaningless - after US President Trump agreed on US TV that he could see no point in sending any US military to risk their lives in defence of Montenegro. "Would you send your son to die for Montenegro," Trump was asked on Fox TV, to which he replied straightforwardly enough: "No".
Russia was strongly opposed, as was Serbia, to Montenegro joining NATO in 2016, hence the coup d'etat plot in Podgorica (formerly Titograd), as Russia is against anyone joining NATO.
But we have to ask ourselves as NATO members too - would we really lay down our lives to defend a piece of land in Kotor, or Lake Ochrid? Why is NATO so keen to expand into these sorts of territories? Why does the EU keep wanting to expand into these sorts of places?
It is little short of miraculous that there has been so little turbulence since the end of the Kosovo conflict in the Balkans. Has peace and love entered the bloodstream of Balkans peoples, or is a slow burning furnace beginning to heat up?
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