Kosovo Prime Minister: “Ready to go to Washington without Thaci”
Related Articles
TIRANA, Jul 3 - Kosovo's Prime Minister announced that he is ready to travel to Washington without President Hashim Thaci to participate in the summit for Kosovo-Serbia normalization talks.
During the joint conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama on Friday, Hoti said that he is "ready and in coordination with Ambassador Grenell to set a date to start the dialogue process with an initially economic and then political agenda of the dialogue, based on our principles, entering for mutual recognition and normalization of relations between the two countries." He added that he will always represent Kosovo whenever he is invited by Brussels or the U.S.
Furthermore, the role of the US and the EU in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia is complementary according to PM Hoti and "there is no competition between the US and the EU."
His statement comes after the initial Washington summit for Kosovo - Serbia normalization talks was cancelled last week due to Thaci being indicted by the Special Prosecutor's Office in the Hague, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
U.S. President Trump's special envoy Richard Grenell later stated that the meeting would take place on another date.
Prior to the cancellation, Grenell had said that the White House summit "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."
"A provocation"
During the conference, Prime Minister Edi Rama called the statement by Serbian President Vucic that he would never recognize Kosovo a provocation. "If we are one, the president of Serbia can go to the moon but in the end he will sit with us, the authorities of the sovereign state of Kosovo, who knows him or not, he is sovereign and inviolable in his sovereignty and with we in Tirana who will support Pristina to the end.
During his speech, Prime Minister Edi Rama also called it a shame that the European Union has not liberalized visas with Kosovo yet, even though it has met the conditions, according to him. The head of the Albanian government said that the reason lies in the domestic policy of the EU member countries.
"We do not make decisions for Kosovo, we do not speak on behalf of Kosovo, but for Kosovo. It is a shame for the EU that today hostages a people, the only one taken hostage in our continent, which is forbidden to move freely. As a state, it has fulfilled all the obligations that each state must fulfill before obtaining visa liberalization," Rama stated.
Kosovo - Albania joint projects
Joint projects between Kosovo and Albania are on the way. PM Hoti announced three major project, which should begin implementation soon. These three projects include the establishment of a customs point at the Port of Durrës where goods from Kosovo can pass through, the construction of a HPP in the territory of Albania to supply energy to Kosovo and lastly, connecting Tirana and Pristina through a railway. The latter may commence during fall this year, according to Hoti.
