PRISTINA – President of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi stated today that he believes Brussels deserves to be criticized for its policy towards Kosovo, while the leadership of the United States is irreplaceable when it comes to the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue.
In an interview for the Serbian-language version of BBC, Thaçi expressed his belief that Kosovo’s leadership has not nearly criticized EU as much as it deserves.
“However, I must be open with my citizens because Kosovo has fulfilled all the conditions for visa liberalization, but is still undeservedly in isolation”, Thaçi said.
He underlined that Kosovo feels betrayed and punished for this lack of unity among EU member states.
On the other hand, Thaçi stated for BBC that he particularly welcomes the agreements reached under the auspices of US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell.
“The US leadership is irreplaceable, and this is clearly stated in two letters sent to us by President Trump, with Ambassador Grenell following what he received as instructions from the President”, he said.
According to Thaçi, it is crucial that there is full coordination between Washington and Brussels, but it is clear that Washington is pushing things forward stronger and better.
Commenting on the fact that he and the newly elected Prime Minister Albin Kurti acted separately at the Munich Security Conference, Thaçi says that their views differ because they come from different political options.
He nevertheless called for the unity of political options when it comes to Serbia.
“The government and the opposition need to reconcile positions. We need to stand united in front of Serbia – without differences between us”, stressed Thaçi.
He also seemingly approved the idea of revoking the tariffs and replacing them with reciprocity principle.
“We must not make decisions that are populist – in this way we are supposedly punishing Serbia, and in fact we are moving away from the European Union and the US”, President of Kosovo said.
Asked about his relationship with the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, Thaçi said that there is no personal relations between them.
“We are the presidents of independent states, elected in a legitimate way, and I promote my country’s views in every forum and in front of all officials, including the President of Serbia”, he said.
In the future, Thaçi believes that neither Kosovo nor Serbia can count on membership in the European Union without a final agreement.
“If we waste this opportunity, we will cry at the gates of Brussels, but it will not worry or interest anyone,” he concludes.
Asked if she will run for a new term, Thaci gave no definitive answer.
“It will depend on the circumstances”, he said.