One of Kosovo’s most extreme lobbyists has been targeted by fierce criticism of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Belgrade based daily Vecernje Novosti wrote today.
The daily writes about the lobbyist US Congressman Eliot Engel, describing him as ”the creator of lies about the alleged rape of 20,000 Albanian women during the war in Kosovo”.
According to Vecernje Novosti, although the conflict initially stemmed from a request for impeachment of US President Trump over the scandal involving Ukraine, the conflict between Pompeo and Democrat Engel practically reveals “dirty methods” used by Albanian lobbyists for years, assigned to some key positions in the US administration.
The war over foreign policymaking on various fronts, including resolving the Kosovo issue, which has long been smouldering between the State Department and parts of Congress, escalated on Tuesday, in an open letter sent by Pompeo to Engel, and posted on his Twitter account, Vecernje Novosti was quoted by Serbian media.
Pompeo warned Engel, who is Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, to stop “intimidating and summoning State Department professionals to give depositions.”
Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic points out that Pompeo has made it clear that he will not allow bullying of State Department diplomats conducted by Engel, reports Vecernje Novosti.
“When Engel puts such pressure on the State Department, you can only imagine what he is doing to other countries regarding Kosovo. He has received millions of dollars from Pristina and openly lobbies for an independent Kosovo because Albanians in the United States support him and vote for him. On the other hand, a US Congressman said that the Serbian diaspora is the best because it does not ask for anything in return for its votes. We are fools, voting for someone without expecting anything in return, nobody in the world does that”, Dacic said.
