DOCUMENTS FROM THE ARCHIVES OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE FRENCH REPUBLIC ON THE STANCES OF THE US, FRANCE AND CANADA REGARDING THE 1981/1982 KOSOVO CRISIS

ЈELENA TODOROVIĆ LAZIĆ; MILOŠ SAVIN

doi:10.19090/i.2025.36.166-183

Authors

ЈELENA TODOROVIĆ LAZIĆ Institute for Political Studies, Belgrade
MILOŠ SAVIN Pozorište mladih, Novi Sad

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.19090/i.2025.36.166-183

Keywords:

Kosovo, 1981 Kosovo crisis, SFRY, USA, France, Canada

Abstract

Based on the materials gathered from the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the French Republic in Paris, this article will present the views of the US, France and Canada on the 1981 Kosovo crisis, when unrest and rioting by ethnic Albanians occurred, but also the following year, when (at least on the face of it) order was restored in Serbia’s southern province. This approach made it possible to draw comparative conclusions as to whether and to what extent the positions of these countries evolved during the period observed. These include mainly confidential reports sent by these countries to NATO, whose key topic is the situation in Kosovo during 1981–1982. In addition, diplomatic notes (France) and intelligence security reports (a report compiled by the General Secretariat for Defense and National Security of the French Republic) were reviewed. One of the objectives of this paper is to present to the scientific community in Serbia some lesser-known facts about the Kosovo issue–specifically positions of the great powers at a time when the Kosovo issue was not so much in the focus of the international community, starting from 1981, when one of the pivotal crises in the history of the Kosovo issue occurred.

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References

Sources:

Diplomatic Archives, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the French Republic (DA MSRF)

Europe Fund, Yugoslavia 1981–1985.

References:

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