The United States needs a partner in Kosovo that understands the need to avoid destabilizing actions, advance regional stability, and protect the rights of all Kosovo citizens, a spokesperson for the US Embassy in Pristina said.
The spokesman made the remarks to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Monday, days after the US indefinitely suspended the planned strategic dialogue with Kosovo, due to concerns over the actions of the acting government led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
He said that the chargé d'affaires at the US Embassy, Anu Prattipati, holds regular meetings with Kurti and that "we have directly expressed our concerns to the prime minister in these meetings, and we have made the position of the United States Government completely clear."
The US Embassy has not explained what actions by acting Prime Minister Kurti led to its decision to indefinitely suspend the planned strategic dialogue.
On Monday, the spokesman stressed that the US will continue to evaluate the actions of the incumbent government, declining to provide further details.
He assured that the US will always remain a close friend of the people of Kosovo and is fully committed to the partnership with Kosovo, but said that he asks partners to work constructively to ensure stability and security.
"We want to move forward with the Government in office, but we need a partner that understands the necessity to avoid destabilizing actions and that is committed to advancing regional stability and protecting the rights of all citizens of Kosovo," the spokesperson stressed.
Last week, the incumbent government rejected US criticism that led to the suspension of the planned strategic dialogue, saying that "our actions, legal and constitutional, have throughout been in the service of eliminating sources of instability with the aim of guaranteeing sustainable and long-term stability."
Meanwhile, the country's president, Vjosa Osmani – who had announced earlier this year that Kosovo would finalize an agreement reached with the US for this dialogue – expressed regret and concern over the US decision.
Strategic dialogue is a process that the US Department of State in most cases develops with various countries around the world with the aim of advancing bilateral relations.
This process involves high-level discussions between the two countries that take place either in Washington or in the respective country, on a wide range of topics such as defense, security, environment, energy, economic cooperation, etc.
While the US has not indicated what actions of Kurti it is unhappy with, in recent days, Kurti – who is also the leader of the Vetëvendosje Movement – and other party officials, including deputy leader Glauk Konjufca, have criticized the Constitutional Court for bias, saying it is close to Albanian parties that were in opposition last term.
The Constitutional Court imposed a temporary measure prohibiting the elected members of the Assembly from taking any action until September 30, and also prohibited them from carrying out any procedure for the formation of the new Government.
The court imposed this measure ex officio and based on the request of the deputies of the Serbian List.
The Constitutional Court and the international community have condemned the pressure of Kurti and his party on the country's highest court./ REL
