TIRANA, June 16 – Special Envoy of the US President, Richard Grenell, announced that the representatives of Belgrade – Pristina will meet on June 27 at the White House.
“Great news! I have received the commitment from the governments of Kosovo and Serbia to temporarily pause the derecognition campaign and the seeking of international memberships in order to meet in Washington, DC at the White House on June 27 for Dialogue discussions,” he wrote on Twitter.
He added that he had received the commitment from the governments of Kosovo and Serbia to temporarily pause the derecognition campaign but warned that “if any party remains dissatisfied with the discussions of June 27, then they will return to ‘status quo’ after leaving Washington.”
Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci welcomed the invitation, stating that “U.S. leadership and support has always been decisive for the prosperous future of Kosovo”, while Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti applauded the halting of the derecognition campaign.
President Thaçi and Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti are expected to travel to Washington on June 27, while Serbia is expected to be represented by its President Aleksandar Vučić, who expressed readiness to “suspend the campaign to withdraw Kosovo’s recognition if Pristina waives its demands for membership in international organizations.”
Earlier on Monday, President Thaci said that Kosovo and the Balkan region were entering an important week “during which concrete steps are expected to be taken by the United States, by Ambassador Grenell, also with the announcement of the visit of Miroslav Lajčák to Kosovo.”
Although Lajčák was initally scheduled to visit Kosovo on Tuesday, his flight from Zurich was cancelled by the TIA due tonotbeing authorized by the latter.
The Vetëvendosje Movement, led by former Prime Minister Albin Kurti, reacted after the announcement of the June 27 meeting, stressing that “no agreement that violates the territorial integrity and functional integrity of Kosovo can be implemented.”
