Kosovo PM Revives Plan to Sue Serbia for Genocide

But Veseli's proposal was described as political opportunism by opponents within Kosovo, and dismissed by international experts as impractical and extremely unlikely to succeed.

Nothing was done to push forward the initiative, and then Veseli himself was arrested last November for allegedly committing war crimes and crimes against humanity when he was a Kosovo Liberation Army guerrilla, and sent to the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague to stand trial.

Now the idea is being revived by Veseli's former opponent, Kurti, a left-wing politician who became prime minister in March and is pushing the idea of an international court case in a similar manner to Veseli in 2019.

Kurti's office denied that his idea has anything to do with Veseli's, however, insisting it was based an obligation derived from the resolution adopted by the Kosovo Assembly.

"The genocide lawsuit against Serbia should have been filed in 2008 when Kosovo declared its independence. Since this has not been done, we are obliged to do it," Kurti's office told BIRN.

"The government of Kosovo has an obligation to its citizens, whose wounds remain open, to prepare a lawsuit for genocide," it added.

Kurti promoted the genocide case during his campaign for February's elections, appealing to a wide constituency in Kosovo associated with the Kosovo Liberation Army's legacy and political heritage. He also mentioned the genocide case when announcing the legislative programme for his new government's term in office.

Last week, Kurti was cautioned against pushing ahead with the initiative by the German ambassador to Pristina, Jorn Rohde.

"I think it is maybe not the right way forward. Because this would be a very lengthy process, many things in Kosovo...