PRISTINA – Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti sent a letter today to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU High Representative of the EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell informing them of the goals of the Kosovo government, reports daily Danas.
Kurti said in a letter that the program of the government he leads is based on establishing rule of law and economic development, thanked the EU for the support it had “always given to Kosovo”.
He added that the Kosovo government is committed to resolving “remaining issues” in relations with Serbia.
“We remain convinced that this must be done in the frameworks of dialogue that would culminate in the mutual recognition of the two countries. We believe this is an important path for integration of Kosovo into the international community and reaching a historic agreement that would create lasting peace, stability and security in the Balkans”, Kurti said in a letter.
He announced that on March 15 the tariffs on goods from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina set by the previous government will start being abolished, Danas reports.
“We are doing this as a gesture of good will and as a token of our commitment to work closely with the US in the dialogue with Serbia. We hope that Belgrade will reciprocally respond to our actions and remove all non-tariff barriers to trade with Kosovo and stop the campaign against recognition of Kosovo”, Kurti said.
He said he is aware that in the past two years there has been a marked lack of coordination of Kosovo representatives on the role, interest and goals in the dialogue with Serbia, and that it has often not been clear who is speaking on behalf of Kosovo on the international and domestic scene.
“The government I lead will end this practice. The government and I as a Prime Minister have a constitutional mandate, political will and legal duty, as well as full and exclusive responsibility for taking over and leading this process and representing Kosovo at the highest diplomatic level”, Kurti said.