TIRANA, Sep. 9 – U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy for the Kosovo- Serbia dialgoue, Richard Grenell has accused Kosovo opposition leader Albin Kurti of being “anti-american”, after the latter refused to support the agreement signed by prime minister Avdullah Hoti last week at the White House.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Kurti announced that his party (Vetevendosje) does not recognize commitments made by Prime Minister Hoti.
“His signature below incoherent and opaque texts is against the people’s will, democratic order and violates Kosova’s constitution & laws,” Kurti wrote.
He added that mediators should refrain from pushing deals which destabilize relations between Kosovo and Serbia and instead focus on principled dialogue to bring about fair and sustainable agreements between the two.
Grenell responded by accusing Kurti of always being against the U.S., including the Obama and Bush administrations.
“Symbolism doesn’t pay the rent; jobs do,” he wrote.
On September 4, Kosovo and Serbia agreed to implement the highway and railway constructions between the two countries, as signed earlier this year. As regards education, Serbia agrees to recognize Kosovo diplomas.
The agreement further states that Kosovo pledges to join the Mini-Schengen zone launched by governments of Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia “and fully utilize its benefits.”
Both countries pledge to work closer on missing persons, exchange of information and fight against crime, and diversify their energy supplies – including the Ujman Lake.
However, Kosovo agrees to stop attempts for membership in international organizations for one year, and Serbia agrees to stop its derecognition campaign for the same period of time.
They pledge to declare Hizballah a terrorist organization and as previously anounced by U.S. President Trump, Israel pledges to recognize Kosovo.
Opposition party Vetëvendosje Movement criticized the agreement, stating that “what was called economic normalization today, looks more like an “economization” of the failure of territorial exchange. Above all, the government lied in vain once again, because mutual recognition was not achieved, while Kosovo’s internal affairs were once again dealt with by Serbia, which is unacceptable.”
“The agreement brings Serbia closer to Kosovo, while recognition by Serbia is not approaching,” LVV added in its statement.
