Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj confirmed in an interview to T7 on Wednesday evening that he will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on June 6 in Berlin. “Chancellor Merkel is focused on developments in both Kosovo and the region … This is an important meeting, as it will focus on internal developments in Kosovo, our bilateral relations, the process of dialogue, the European perspective. The meeting is an important development for Kosovo,” he said.
Haradinaj said that at the Berlin Summit, the process of dialogue was shifted from EU High Representative Federica Mogherini under the responsibility of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emanuel Macron “and this means that there will be no more surprises, such as proposals for partition or border correction”.
Haradinaj said that since he assumed duty, he was very careful to further relations with Berlin, they are multi-faceted, “I think that there is now serious communication between the Kosovo Government and Berlin”.
Haradinaj said his meeting with German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer and his support for visa liberalization for Kosovo, marked a turning point in the process. He added that although Germany will go to elections soon and “the migration issue is a delicate matter”, the German Chancellor made sure that he did not return to Kosovo empty-handed and that he received the confirmation for visa liberalization. Haradinaj added that the credit goes to the entire political landscape in Kosovo. He also denied rumors that Germany supports visa liberalization for Kosovo in exchange for lifting the import tariff on Serbian goods.
Haradinaj said “projects” aiming at Kosovo’s partition have died and that everyone knows this. “It is known that it is impossible to change borders in the Balkans without wars … I was seriously engaged in opposing actions that would be detrimental to Kosovo. But partition was stopped because it is wrong and not because of me,” he said.
Asked about the allegations by the President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci about ties with Milan Radoicic from the north, Haradinaj said he would welcome Thaci or anyone else bringing anything he they have on him to the table or send it to the prosecution. He said he did not keep his meeting with Radoicic secret and in fact even posted it on Facebook. “I have no reason to go to someone’s home secretly,” he said adding that such allegations are due to the popular support of his party, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), having grown to 20 percent since he came to power.
On his relations with Thaci, Haradinaj said that he has nothing personal against him but that it is evident that there is a fall-out between them.
Haradinaj said the focus right now needs to be on efforts to prevent “Dodik-like” republic in Kosovo. He said that the association of Serb municipalities is Kosovo’s “upcoming battle”. “We have to have one thing clear: There is not going to be a Dodik republic in Kosovo. This should be clear to everyone.”
“Our Constitutional Court found that many responsibilites set out in the Agreement [on Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities] are not in line with the country’s Constitution. This needs to be decided in accordance to Kosovo’s Constitution and laws,” he said.
