The U.S. Vice President Joe Biden during his official visit to Kosovo told a press conference on Wednesday that Kosovo must ratify the border-demarcation agreement with Montenegro and establish the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities. Otherwise, he said, Kosovo would lose the support of the US if it doesn’t fulfill these two agreements. “The agreement on border-demarcation with Montenegro is a fair deal and will have a positive impact on the region,” Biden said. While in regards to the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities, he said Kosovo must enable the establishment of this Association/Community and should move forward and respect the rights of all citizens.
Speaking about the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue, Biden said Kosovo needs to have close cooperation with its neighbors. “The President and Prime Minister have expressed their readiness to continue the EU-mediated dialogue with Serbia. It will be difficult, but necessary. You have the responsibility to fulfill the commitments arising from this dialogue. These are essential for Kosovo’s European future. The United States will continue to help Kosovo. We have provided more than 2 billion dollars in aid and we want to have a strong Kosovo. I am here to ensure that the US will stand with Kosovo to be a democratic state. This is your extraordinary success and it is also in the interest of my country. If you succeed, then the region will succeed. This region has never been fully integrated into Europe and our vision is European integration,” added Biden during a joint press conference with Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi. He also urged the authorities in Kosovo to fight corruption and organized crime.
