
The acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, during his stay in the United States said that the reason why Washington has suspended the planned Strategic Dialogue with Kosovo has to do with the closure of Serbian structures in northern Kosovo, inhabited by a Serb majority.
Asked during a conversation to explain the reason for the decision announced by the US on September 12, Kurti said that he cannot compromise with the rule of law.
“[The reason for the suspension of the planned Strategic Dialogue] is because of the rule of law in northern Kosovo, which turned out to be against illegal Serbian structures, and here I cannot make compromises. I cannot leave this problem to your generation. I think my generation is the one that has to finish this,” Kurti said.
Kurti said that the Kosovo-US relationship is three-dimensional: defense, development and diplomacy. While he said there are no problems in the first two pillars, when it comes to diplomacy, according to him, there are "obstacles."
"Where we have some obstacles is in diplomacy, because in my opinion, the US considers it very important to withdraw Serbia from the Eastern Hemisphere because Serbia is closely linked to Moscow and we, being steadfast in the rule of law, democracy, state sovereignty and territorial integrity, some politicians and diplomats in the US assess that we are not helping the US to separate Serbia from the Russian Federation. But, honestly, this should not be my problem," Kurti said, adding that he represents the interests of Kosovo.
On September 12, the US Embassy justified the decision to suspend the Dialogue with the actions of the incumbent Government and the increase in tensions and instability in the country.
Through a statement, the US Embassy in Kosovo said that the actions of the Government led by the acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, have "increased tensions and instability, limiting the ability of the United States to work productively with Kosovo on shared priorities."
"Unfortunately, the recent actions and statements of the acting Prime Minister Kurti have posed challenges to the progress achieved over the years," she said, without explaining what statements and actions are in question exactly.
Kurti in the US said that he is not a prime minister who tells the Kosovo Police not to arrest a Serbian criminal caught red-handed, "because this action could be condemned by Brussels and Washington."
"And I look very different to them than my predecessors. This is a curse from my successors, who were soft. I am normal, but I look extreme. This is because of my predecessors, who were not normal," Kurti said.
Kurti said that there are differences between Kosovo and the US when it comes to "tactics and actions" and not values, interests and principles.
On September 19, the acting prime minister of Kosovo stated that there are differences between the two countries, but Kurti added that "we are not broken with America."
Last year, authorities in Kosovo began closing down institutions in the north that operate under the Serbian system. Kosovo considers these parallel institutions to be illegal.
The actions of the Kosovo executive in the north have faced criticism from the international community, including the US.
Meanwhile, in recent weeks, the work of the Health Insurance Fund and the Disability and Pension Insurance Fund, which operate according to the Serbian system, in North Mitrovica was suspended./REL