International reactions towards the decision of Belgrade to forbid the visit of Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, continue.

Ambassador Frank Wisner, who was also chief negotiator of the U.S. State Department during the Vienna negotiations, gave an extensive statement for Kosova Press, where he condemned Belgrade’s behavior as “an unfortunate example for a lost opportunity to advance the relations between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia.”

Ambassador Wisner said that the Serbian government quoted a decision of 1997, the time of Milosevic’s regime, threatening Thaci that he would be arrested. “This kind of policy is unfortunate. Such Serbian statements only enflame the public opinion in Kosovo. This Serbian rejection is in clear contradiction with the manner in which Kosovo organized welcoming of Serbia’s President, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister,” said Wisner.

For people like me, who worked for reconciliation in the region, said Wisner, Serbia’s decision is very unfortunate. “If the two populations want to achieve normalization of relations, foreseen in Brussels Agreement, every opportunity should be used to improve the communication and address the issues of the painful past decades. Threatening to arrest people of peace is wrong and counterproductive,” concluded the Ambassador.