US diplomats on tariffs: It’s incredible that Kosovo values our friendship so lightly as to ignore our advice
(GazetaExpress)
Kosovo institutional leaders received a letter from the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer, who urged them to suspend tax on Serbian and Bosnian products.
In the letter which was published by Kosovo’s public broadcaster, Palmer, addressing to President Hashim Thaçi, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj and Speaker of Parliament Kadri Veseli, stated that after the US request on suspending the tariffs went unheeded, US has decided to take steps to show concern, including with regard to our security partnership.
Further in the letter it is written that it is incredible that after all what the US has been achieved together, Kosovo values US-Kosovo friendship so lightly as to ignore Washington’s advice on suspending tax.
The full letter follows:
Dear President Thaci:
Dear Prime Minister Haradinaj:
Dear Assembly Speaker Veseli:
As president Trump wrote in his December 2018 letter, this is a moment of opportunity to advance Kosovo’s future as a stable, and secure country by normalizing relations with Serbia and taking a key step toward integration with Euro-Atlantic institutions. We have since expressed our concerns that certain actions, including the imposition of tariffs on Serbian and Bosnian products, could threaten this goal. These actions undermine the United States’ ability to continue to collaborate with you on a wide range of shared objectives.
After our request to suspend the tariffs went unheeded, we have decided to take steps to show our concern, including with regard to our security partnership. To begin with, we have chosen to cancel the planned travel of Iowa National Guard General Orr to Kosovo. His visit was intended to focus on bilateral security cooperation. Given the unhelpful actions your government has taken, it would be inappropriate for such a visit to occur. We will be looking carefully at other aspects of our cooperation and reviewing if they should also be curtailed.
Kosovo has no better friend than the United States. We have worked for many years to realize a future in which the people of Kosovo can live as they chose, in peace. Kosovo’s struggle for freedom captured the imagination of Americans. Thousands of U.S. diplomats and soldiers have been personally involved in trying to build a future of Kosovo. It is incredible that after all we have done together, Kosovo values our friendship so lightly as to ignore our advice. The United States continue to stand ready to help and support Kosovo to reach a comprehensive normalization agreement with Serbia, centred on mutual recognition, which is durable, implementable and benefits both sides. For the last twenty years, this has been an impossible goal. Although still difficult, it is a road that must be travelled to reach a future of security and prosperity. Our intent is to see that Serbia, as well as Kosovo, acts responsibly to get the Dialogue process banc on track. The first step on this road must be suspending the tariffs. Until you have done so, we cannot restore our relationship to our previous robust level.
Sincerely,
Matthew Palmer
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
Laura Cooper
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
John Earth
Principal Director for European Affairs, National Security Council
Haradinaj asks America to understand him regarding decision on tariff
(KTV)
Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj after the meeting of state leaders said that the tariff on Serbian goods will not be rescinded, KTV reported late on Tuesday.
Haradinaj has said he loves America very much for all its contribution to Kosovo.
Haradinaj said he asks the leaders of institutions in the United States of America to understand him regarding the decision on tariff.
The Prime Minister said he wanted the entire political spectrum to be unified, in order for the tariff not to be lifted until recognition.
Full translation of PM Haradinaj’s remarks to the media after this meeting, as reported by Kallxo.com, follow:
Mr. Haradinaj what was the reason for this meeting?
Haradinaj: First of all, we apologize because you had to wait for a long time outside. Secondly, there is a tradition to occasionally meet for informal discussions… the Government, the institutions; the President was also invited so that we can have an informal discussion, not a formal one. We discussed all topics.
Is there any change regarding the tariff now after the letter of Americans which has been resent?
Haradinaj: Today I had a meeting with the Ambassador, Mr. Philip Kosnett, whom I greatly esteem; I think he is a skillful diplomat and a man who represents the US in the best way. He was very specific, he asked, suggested to Kosovo to suspend the tariff. At the same time, he presented this letter which has been sent to all the three institutional leaders: The President, Assembly Speaker and the Prime Minister. We explained our position. I had the opportunity to explain that we love America, I truly love America, but I do not subdue to Serbia and Russia. The tariff was not imposed with relation to America, neither with the recent developments in the dialogue. There has been a sort of frozen conflict for 20 years, we are sick and tired. We seek a solution, a final Kosovo-Serbia agreement, a comprehensive legally binding agreement for recognition, which would include the free trade and tariff issue. I am not only in favor of suspending, but also of rescinding the tariff, but it is related to recognition. But, having waited 20 years for an epilogue of Kosovo-Serbia relations, we have the reached the key point, when we are really determined. I am determined… The purpose is to make possible a situation for an agreement with Serbia, because two decades have passed. So, I ask for America and for decision makers in America to understand us, we that love America the most in the world. There are no people that loves America more than us, expect American people itself. We can no longer subdue to Serbia, so Serbia can joke with us, sometimes revoking our recognitions, joking with us when we are not admitted to INTERPOL, disputing border crossings between Kosovo and Serbia, such as Bërnjak and Jarinje, attacking families of KSF members. This is the last time, we are determined.
Nevertheless, they have announced some sanctions. Is Kosovo capable of facing these sanctions?
Haradinaj: We understand properly everything that comes from America, and we understand that they apply their principles. I am deeply convinced that America is determined to stabilize our Balkans region, not only Kosovo and Serbia. We do not do it for pleasure or arrogance, but we are forced to. For the last 20 years Serbia was not fair in Kosovo-Serbia relations. Those relations are still not fair. This is the last time to reach a comprehensive legally binding agreement between and Kosovo and Serbia, which is not based on territories and borders, but on mutual recognitions, establishing bilateral relations and free trade. I support reaching of such an agreement as soon as possible.
Did you manage to persuade the President, as well?
Haradinaj: What I presented tonight are the most sincere positions I can present on behalf of those whom I represent, those who trust me. My desire is for us to be unified and the tariff not to be rescinded until the recognition happens. As far as I am concerned, I believe I have been and will be clear in the future. In mind view, the tariff should not be rescinded until the recognition happens. It is widely being spoken that a compromise was made with the Demarcation, well when I entered the Government I found the Demarcation already signed by somebody of Kosovo. Afterwards, we managed to draft a report of a state commission. The report was voted in the Assembly, as same as the Ratification Agreement. We also reached an agreement of Presidents on correction of the agreement. It was only then that it was voted – three documents were voted: Report of the State Commission, Agreement of Presidents and the Border Agreement. The present case of the legally binding agreement with Serbia, I believe, is the most important and the most sensitive development for Kosovo. I will support reaching an agreement without territory exchange, without changing of correction of borders, but we will not rescind the tariff until recognition. Thank you media!
Haradinaj: Kosovo can’t be blackmailed with Specialist Chambers to accept border or territory exchange
(KTV)
One day after his former deputy war commander Lahi Brahimaj received summon from the Specialist Chambers, the former Dukagjini commander, currently Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, said that Kosovo would not accept border or territory exchange as a result of blackmailing with the Specialist Chambers.
He said that it would not happen, even if someone’s career is threatened.
The Prime Minister also conveyed a message to the Army commander Rrahman Rama, calling on him to work more and be less present on the media; otherwise, if he finds it difficult to lead the Army, there are other people who can do it.
Haradinaj added that Kosovo has not voted for an army for south or north, but the Kosovo Army will operate throughout the territory.
Prime Minister Haradinaj also sent messages to his coalition partner Kadri Veseli, who has proposed suspension of the tariff for 120 days.
“Veseli would be a good Prime Minister. It is the political agreement that has made him hold the Assembly Speaker’s post and I hold the Prime Minister’s, but the decision on tariff is taken by the Government. Everyone should protect Prime Minister’s integrity. One should not ask the Prime Minister to act against his will, otherwise it is better to dismiss the Prime Minister and ask for the Government coalition to be broken,” he said.
Haradinaj said that he was suggested to rescind the tariff also on Tuesday at his meeting with the US Ambassador Philip Kosnett, but Haradinaj had responded that it would happen only once Serbia will have recognised Kosovo.
He stated that the tariff may go on forever, unless Serbia changes its stance.
Beqiri: USA saved us from vanishing; no-one has the right to play with this friendship
(KTV)
On a Facebook post, LDK MP Ismet Beqiri said that no one has the right to play with friendship and partnership with the United States of America.
He says that with this governance, our existence is being threatened, too.
“Today’s letter from US officials speaks for itself. No one has the right to play with friendship and partnership with the US, the state that saved us from being vanished. With those who are ruling, our existence is at risk. The citizens are not with you, Beqiri wrote.
“Kosovo can only move forward with its citizens and with the United States,” Beqiri concluded.
Stoltenberg addresses two disappointments concerning Kosovo, US supports KSF
(KTV)
On Tuesday in Brussels, the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressed two disappointments concerning Kosovo.
The first disappointment was again about December’s decision on the Kosovo Army, and the second one was about the decision on tariff.
At the beginning of the Summit of Defence Ministers of 29 NATO member countries, Stoltenberg said that the meeting would serve to look into the way of engaging with KSF; however the decision on tariff has disappointed many of the allies.
“What we are going to assess are activities that are beyond the KFOR’s Mission, and which is capacity building. We have not made any decision, but we made it clear that we will assess the level of NATO’s engagement, because some allies said that the decision on transformation of KSF into an army was at an ill time, and some allies are also disappointed with the tariff,” Stoltenberg said.
What will not change, according to the NATO Secretary General, is KFOR’s Mission, which will continue to be in line with the UN Resolution that is to provide safety and security to all citizens Kosovo-wide, something that local security forces may not do without permission.
“We have clearly stated that the security forces in Kosovo must comply with the international obligations, including the agreements in Brussels, namely that they will not move to Kosovo north without permission and consent of COMKFOR. Of course, the issues will be at the table for discussion, but it is early to say exactly what decisions will be made,” Stoltenberg added.
The US, the key NATO funder, does not share Stoltenberg’s opinion with regard to the Army. The US Ambassador Kay Bailey Hutchison said that NATO would support development of Kosovo’s Army, and that it is not related to a bilateral issue such as the tariff.
“I do not know about the tariff between Kosovo and Serbia, those are bilateral issues; but as far as the Kosovo Security Force is concerned, NATO will continue working with the Kosovo Government in creating Armed Forces, in order for them to be made so that they include all communities, and to make sure that as it grows and gets empowered, to be also Kosovo Security Force. But we want Kosovo and Serbia to work together in normalisation of their relations, and once relations are normalised, many issues in the relevant countries will be resolved. We want to have rights of communities that will be part of the history that will be overcome and that will be inclusive in both sides of the border,” Hutchison stated.
Kosovo is a minor topic of discussion compared with many issues that will be at the table. The key issue is removing Russia from the agreement with the US on the anti-ballistic missile system.
Kosovo’s platform on dialogue with Serbia ready
(GazetaExpress)
Kosovo’s negotiation team in dialogue with Serbia has finalised a platform on dialogue. Co-head of the state negotiation team, Fatmir Limaj, says the draft platform will be forwarded to institutional leaders on Wednesday and it will be submitted to Parliament on Thursday for final approval.
“We have worked thoroughly in all details and we will forward the draft platform to institutional leaders, the Prime Minister, Speaker of Parliament, President and on Thursday the negotiation team will approve a final draft of the platform and submit to the Parliament,” Limaj said.
“State leaders are encouraged to give their feedback. The delegation will take into consideration all recommendations and comments, before the final draft of the platform is approved by the negotiation team and proceeded to Parliament,” Limaj said.
He also confirmed that the platform will be handed over also to opposition parties which are not joining the state delegation in dialogue and are disputing the credibility of the negotiators.
Thaçi says that secret meetings with Vucic never happened
(RTK)
Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi said he did not have a secret meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
He stated this on Tuesday in an interview with the Albanian Radio Television – RTSH 1.
“I met with President Vucic at meetings of various leaders and ceremonies, behind cameras, in corridors and halls in Paris, Vatican, Vienna, New York, where we discussed openly developments in the region and in the Western Balkans,” he said.
“On the other hand, the negotiations, all of them without distinction, were open, transparent and under no circumstances or at any price, no secret meeting took place,” he continued.
Thaçi said he believes it is possible that 2019 will be the year of the historic, peaceful, final agreement between Kosovo and Serbia.
Kosovo Serbs fear the border correction idea
(RTK)
The idea of border correction has frightened Serbs living in Kosovo; for this reason, they have called for the idea to be abandoned, and asked for Serbia to recognize the reality of Kosovo as an independent state, in order for relations between Kosovo and Serbia to be normalised
A dialogue of Kosovo Government with the Serb community has been recommended, in order to create better conditions for Serbs in Kosovo.
This was said on the occasion of publication of Helsinki Committee’s research report, which speaks about the lives and expectations of Serbs in Kosovo.
Sonja Biserko of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights called for the idea of border correction to be abandoned; since, as such, it poses a threat to the conflict in the Balkans.
She said that the Serb community in Kosovo lives in difficult conditions and they do not enjoy support from Belgrade, but there is also lack of adequate support from Prishtinë/Pristina.
According to her, the challenge for Serbs in Kosovo remains acceptance of Kosovar identity, while she stressed that they are economically dependent on Serbia.
Based on this report, it turns out that Srpska Lista does not represent the interests of the Serb community; therefore Biserko recommends that the Kosovar side should begin a dialogue with Kosovo Serbs in order to improve their lives.
The key problems faced by the Serb community in Kosovo are the difficult economic and social situation, the inability to get employed, particularly for the youth of this community.
KIPRED’s Executive Director Lulzim Peci also said that the idea of border correction poses a threat to both countries, adding that such an idea destroys all that has been built in these 20 years in Kosovo.
He supported the idea that the negotiation team makes Kosovo Serbs also be part of dialogue with Serbia.
Izabela Kisic, Executive Director of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia, said that based on the research, it has been noted that integration of Serbs in Kosovo has regressed.
According to her, proposals for partition of Kosovo have created uncertainty and insecurity within the Serb community.
On the other hand, Ismajl Kurteshi of Vetëvendosje Movement said that the Serb community in Kosovo enjoys numerous rights, and that many investments were made to return them to Kosovo. According to him, bringing books from Serbia is also causing disruptions between Serb and Albanian communities in Kosovo.
Kurteshi said that dialogue with Kosovo Serbs has especially been missing now, when they are also represented by the Srpska Lista, which rather represents Belgrade’s requests than those of the Serb community in Kosovo.
For the purpose of this report, 40 respondents of the Serb community living in different enclaves in Kosovo of different ages were interviewed.
Citizens don’t want return of foreign fighters to Kosovo
(RTK1)
Kosovo citizens do not want return of foreign fighters, believing that they represent concern to security in the country, due to their fighting skills and their links to terrorist groups. This is stated in a report published by the Kosovo Centre for Security Studies (KCSS).
The KCSS report on new threats by violent extremism in Kosovo says that most of the respondents would not accept a returned foreign fighter to their community.
“More than 65 per cent of Kosovo citizens believe that foreign fighters returned from conflict areas represent threat to security of the country,” Vesë Kelmendi of KCSS said.
A significantly smaller number of citizens said they would be willing to accept this category, under condition for the returnees to be placed under institutional supervision.
Twelve (12) per cent of respondents stated that they did not mind at all return of foreign fighters to the community.
Citizens have a different opinion regarding return of women and children of former foreign fighters, who are in conflict zones in Syria and Iraq. Thirty-six (36) per cent of the respondents stated that they would accept to their community the women and children who return from Syria and Iraq.
According to citizens, women and children who joined the war in Syria were mostly forced and threatened by their husbands, or it was fathers who took the decision to join conflict areas.
But even in the case of women and children, 30 per cent of interviewees said they would not accept them to their communities; whereas 28 per cent said yes, only if state supervision is provided.
The report points out that citizens believe that compared with previous years there are fewer radicalised persons who continue spreading violent extremism to their community.
Nevertheless, concerning violent extremism, citizens believe that the situation remains as same as in the previous years.
“From perceptions to the question what do Kosovo citizens consider as a threat, 70 per cent consider violent extremism a threat,” Kelmendi said.
Kelmendi added that citizens also consider other forms of extremism as threats, including politically motivated extremism.
“Regarding ethnically motivated violent extremism, 30 per cent of citizens consider it a threat. Politically motivated extremism remains the greatest threat to citizens,” Kelmendi added.
Regarding trust of citizens in religious institutions, according to KCSS, 57 per cent of practising Muslims trust the Kosovo Islamic Union.