Tony Blair is revered in Kosovo for helping end its war. Many ask if he can succeed again in Gaza

Tony Blair is revered in Kosovo for helping end its war. Many ask if he can succeed again in Gaza

PRISTINA: A US peace plan has propelled former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to the forefront of efforts to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. While his legacy in the Middle East is controversial, especially given his role in taking the UK to war as part of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, there is one place he is revered as a hero: Kosovo.

As prime minister, Blair — along with then US President Bill Clinton — played a pivotal role in putting together an international coalition that conducted airstrikes in 1999 to end Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic’s crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

Blair’s popularity in Kosovo soared in the aftermath of the war, even leading to the emergence of a new name for boys: Tonibler, the phonetic spelling of Tony Blair’s name in Albanian.

Tonibler Gashi, a 24-year-old medical student in Pristina, said he is proud of his name.