Blerim Shala, member of the Kosovo Assembly and the political coordinator of the Kosovo team in talks with Serbia, writes in his opinion piece that the key message from the United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, during his visit to Kosovo on Wednesday, was that Kosovo needs to implement all obligations as a democratic, European and Western country. Shala notes that during his two-hour stay at Pristina Airport on Wednesday, Kerry made it clear what Kosovo needs to do in the next two-three years. “There cannot be violence and democracy at the same time. There can also be no democracy without debate. This debate must first and foremost take place in the Assembly of Kosovo, and everyone should be ready to listen to one another and agree with one another. There can be no stable state without the rule of law. There can be no rule of law without successfully fighting organized crime and corruption. There is no readiness to face justice as a country without establishing the Special Court. There can be no foreign investments and economic development, if the law does not apply for all and if there is no stable democracy in the country. Without economy there can be no new jobs, no social stability and no prospect for the people of Kosovo. There can be no international perspective for Kosovo, if the latter does not become stable in terms of politics, justice and the economy, and if the country does not continue to address the threats coming from violent extremism, if the country does not meet its international obligations, starting from the normalization of relations with Serbia. Without fulfilling these duties vis-à-vis itself and the others, Kosovo cannot move forward as a state toward membership in NATO and the European Union. Shortly after he left Pristina, people here began explaining and interpreting Secretary Kerry’s messages, mainly applying the approach of taking only one opinion or certain messages, and failing to view Kerry’s messages as whole, because only as a whole it conveys the key message of the top U.S. diplomat: the United States are with you, it will be so in the future, but first you need to deal with yourself and meet all obligations that you have as a democratic, European and Western country. This visit comes at the best political time for Kosovo. Kerry spoke to us as a friend of this country, one who still believes that we can make Kosovo a successful state”.