Kosovo PM cancels participation in Summit at the White House
TIRANA, June 25 – Kosovo’s Prime Minister Adullah Hoti cancelled his participation in the Kosovo- Serbia Summit which was planned to take place at the White House on Saturday, following the announcement of President Hashim Thaci’s indictment on war crimes charges.
“Due to the new developments in Prishtina as a result of the indictment submitted by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office, I have to return to my country to deal with the situation,” Hoti wrote, adding that U.S. Envoy Rchard Grenell has already been notified of the decision.
In this line, leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Isa Mustafa, wrote on Thursday that “in the current situation, before meeting with Vucic, we need to meet once again, to sit down together to discuss and find ways and stable solutions. To ensure the functioning of all state institutions, because without their normal functioning, it is illusory that one can proceed with an agreement.”
President Thaci cancelled his trip to Washington shortly after the Special Prosecution Office’s announcement of its ten-count indictment against him, DP leader Kadri Veseli and several others on war crimes and crimes against humanity charges. Based on the indictment filed on April 24, the accused are responsible for nearly 100 murders, involving victims of Kosovo Albanian, Serb, Roma, and other ethnicities in addition to including political opponents.
U.S. President Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell later confirmed Hoti’s decision and stated that the meeting could be postponed into a later date.
“We understand your decision and we look forward to re-scheduling the meeting soon,” he wrote.
Prior to the cancellation, the special summit for the normalization of Kosovo-Serbia talks was expected to take place at the White House on Saturday, with Thaci and Hoti’s presence as Kosovo’s representatives and President Aleksandar Vucic as Serbia’s representative. U.S. President Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell stated last week that the initially planned meeting of the leaders of the two countries on June 27 at the White House “opens the door to new economic development and investment” and that “the United States hopes that leaders in Kosovo and Serbia will seize this chance to return to dialogue and begin a new era of stability and prosperity.”
So far, Grenell has not made any public statements since PM Hoti’s decision to cancel his participation in the summit.
