Hovenier: The Association's draft charter was drawn up by Kosovo's friends in Europe and the United States

2023-12-13 20:28:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Hovenier: The Association's draft charter was drawn up by Kosovo's

The US ambassador to Pristina, Jeff Hovenier, said on Wednesday that the draft charter for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities presented by Western diplomacy may have room for improvement, but stressed that the process of establishing it must move forward quickly.

"Is there room for improvement, there are opportunities. But also, we cannot get bogged down in specifics and lose the moment and the importance of the steps forward in the establishment of the Association" , said American Ambassador Hovenier.

The American ambassador made these comments after a meeting with a group of students in the city of Mitrovica. He expressed concern with the high level of comments and criticisms about the Association, stressing that any doubts about its constitutionality will be clarified by the Constitutional Court of Kosovo.

"We think that the focus should be on the issue of how Kosovo can move forward with this draft statute and then send it to the Constitutional Court," he said, adding that "all those who have spoken about the importance of aligning with the United States and coordination with the United States, with the West and Europe, they must look closely at the fact that this draft statute came from all Kosovo's friends in Europe and the United States".

The draft charter proposal was submitted to the parties on October 21 by the American and European envoys. On October 26, the leaders of Germany, France and Italy and the institutions of the European Union met separately in Brussels with the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti and the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, to discuss the way forward towards normalization, asking Kosovo to establish the Association, while Serbia, the de facto recognition of Kosovo.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said he was ready to sign the proposal, but accused Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic of refusing to sign. Meanwhile, the Serbian president said that the proposal represents a good basis for further talks, but rejected any possibility of recognizing Kosovo's independence.

The Association's draft charter, which was made public recently, has been criticized by a part of the opposition which considers that it damages the unitary character of the state.

"The position of the United States is clear. The association must be in accordance with the current Constitution of Kosovo, it must be in accordance with the decision of the Constitutional Court, it must not be the third level of power, it must not have executive powers. We don't even want a Serbian Republic. We don't want something that has a negative impact on the functioning of the state of Kosovo", emphasized Ambassador Hovenier.

Its establishment is part of the agreement reached in Brussels and Ohrid earlier this year which failed to reduce tensions between the parties, which reached a high point at the end of September after an attack on the Kosovo police by a group armed Serbs, where a police officer was killed.

Ambassador Hovenier said today that the United States is still in the process of an investigation that does not rely only on the data of Kosovo institutions about the events of September 24, while he reiterated that all those responsible should and will be brought to justice.

The attack has prompted new Western efforts to speed up the normalization of relations between the parties, amid concerns about stability in the region./ VOA