AACL Statement/ Resolving the Serbia-Kosova conflict

Dear Friends and Supporters

Joe and I, along with the overwhelming majority of the Board of Directors of the Albanian American Civic League, are very concerned about the new and accelerated pressure from the European Union and the US Department of State on Kosova’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti and President Vjosa Osmani to capitulate to actions that favor the Serbian government, at the expense of Kosova. As a result, we have decided to make a public statement about our concerns, which we have shared with some Members of the US House of Representatives and Senate:

1) An astonishing statement from Derek Chollet, advisor to the US State Department, in which he said that it was good to speak with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and that he shared disappointment with Kosova’s decision not to delay license plate requirements and to advance Serbia’s EU integration. This amounts to US State Department collaboration with Serbia, whose President has no intention of recognizing Kosova’s independence and every intention of carving up an independent country.

2) Deputy Assistant Secretary Gabriel Escobar’s interview with Voice of America, in which he insists that Kosova delay the implementation of its license plate requirement in Northern Kosova, and, more important, that Kosova immediately enter into negotiations with Serbia to create the Association of Serb municipalities, about which he also states that both the United States and Europe are united.

As we have explained in the past, the position of the US State Department does not necessarily reflect the position of the Foreign Affairs committees in the Senate and House of Representatives. We believe that the US State Department is overly reacting to the Serbian government’s threats against Kosova—threats that are bound up with Belgrade’s relationship with Moscow.

Instead of capitulating to Serbia, steps should be taken that support the principled positions recently expressed by Albin Kurti and Vjosa Osmani. Otherwise, the conflict in Southeast Europe will intensify. We also hope that the silent ethnic cleansing of Albanians in southern Serbia will be brought to an end.

See below statements in response to the Serbia-Kosova conflict from Kosova Prime Minister Albin Kurti and President Vjosa Osmani. The key issue is not making concessions that divide Kosova along ethnic lines.

All the best,
Shirley Cloyes DioGuardi
Balkan Affairs Adviser