Albin Kurti, leader of the Vetevendosje Movement which won the highest number of votes in Sunday’s snap parliamentary elections, said in interview to the news agency that he would lead the political dialogue with Serbia and that the President can no longer lead the process.
Asked on the meeting with LDK leader Isa Mustafa and deputy leader Vjosa Osmani on Thursday, Kurti said: “we congratulated each other and then moved to our key interest, teams of experts to harmonise the programs, and reduce the number of government ministries, we aim to have 12 ministries, where at least 30 percent of ministers and deputy ministers will be women. We also agreed to move forward because expectations from the citizens are high and we have wasted a lot of time”. Kurti said the difference in votes between Vetevendosje and LDK has determined who will be the new Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo. He said after the two sides approximate their programs, we will also divide responsibilities in the government. Kurti said LDK and Vetevendosje together have over 61 MPs. “We will start talks with the non-Serb minorities. As far as the Serb minority is concerned, we will first see what we can do with Serb politicians that recognise Kosovo’s independence, recognise the Republic of Kosovo, respect the Constitution and laws of Kosovo, and who were unfortunately under pressure from Belgrade and were victimised by numerous violations during the October 6 elections, as concluded by our observers too”. Kurti mentioned Nenad Rasic, Slobodan Petrovic, Petar Miletic and others “who have recognised Kosovo’s independence, have decided to live here and want to contribute to a democratic statebuilding process and the social and economic development of Kosovo, unlike those who are orchestrated by Belgrade and come to Kosovo to make provocations. I believe that Kosovo Serbs have incomparably more problems with Belgrade than with Pristina”.
Asked if he is willing to suspend or lift the import tariff on Serbian goods, Kurti said: “We are not only willing but also interested in replacing the 100 percent tariff with full reciprocity with Serbia in line with the Kosovo Assembly’s resolution adopted on December 7, 2011. Serbia cannot act wickedly with us and expect us not to protect our own interests … I believe international factors will have understanding for this”.
Asked if an agreement with Serbia is possible without making compromises, Kurti said: “I believe we need to send to Serbia a list of our demands and the debts it owes us, starting from the succession of Yugoslavia to war reparations. Serbia too can send us their list. I don’t think we owe anything to Serbia. I would talk about compromises and concessions now, but honestly and seriously, we need to clarify our positions. Serbia needs to stop looking at Albanians with military binoculars, and needs to start looking at itself in the mirror. There can be no peace and reconciliation if Serbia does not address it past. The sooner it does this, the better it will be not only for Serbia. The end of our dialogue should certainly conclude the recognition of Kosovo’s independence, the amendment of the Serbian Constitution and their readiness to address the past and learn all necessary lessons and make the necessary compensations to the victims”.
Kurti said that as Prime Minister he will never be arrogant with the opposition, but always respectful and willing to cooperate. “I will not allow Serbia to meddle in Kosovo’s political landscape. I will include politicians and members of the opposition in our joint team for dialogue with Serbia, because we don’t have the luxury to be divided on this matter. We can clash, discuss and polemise on economic development, the tax system, social wellbeing, education and health, but not for Serbia,” he said.
