Kurti responds to O'Brien: The partnership with the USA is not in jeopardy

2024-02-14 15:13:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Kurti responds to O'Brien: The partnership with the USA is not in jeopardy

Albin Kurti

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, rejected the suggestions of the US Assistant Secretary of State, James O'Brien, that Kosovo jeopardized the partnership with the United States after the decision to ban the Serbian dinar.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday in Prizren, Kurti said that he values ??the USA as the most important partner of Kosovo.

"The Republic of Kosovo does not have an important partner, ally and friend like the United States, that's how I consider it and cooperate as Prime Minister of Kosovo", said Kurti.

He spoke a day after O'Brien told VOA that the United States may not treat Kosovo as a partner if it makes decisions without consulting it, following the decision to ban the Serbian dinar.

"I don't make vague threats publicly. I would say, if we are not treated as partners, we will not treat the government of Kosovo as a partner either," O'Brien said on Tuesday.

When persistently asked by journalists about O'Brien's statement, Kurti repeated several times: "It is not being endangered, it is not being endangered".

The Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) put into effect on February 1 a new regulation which determines that the euro is the only currency that can be used for cash payments throughout the country, ignoring the constant calls of the international community for postponing its implementation and the opposition of the Kosovo Serbs.

At the beginning of this week, the CBK announced that the transition phase of the implementation of its regulation will last up to three months, while Kurti said the same day that Kosovo will not give up the decision to ban the dinar for payments with cash, but that he is respecting the demands of the international community on this matter.

On Wednesday, speaking in the southern city of Kosovo, Kurti defended the decision on the dinar, saying that he does not foresee punitive measures in what he said is the CBK's 10-point plan for implementing its regulation.

"Among these 10 points as a work plan for the implementation of the regulation, the Central Bank has not foreseen any punitive measure, so without punishment and without incident, we want to move forward. Constitutionality and legality are our priority, but at the same time we also care about peace and security, we also care about the well-being of Serbian citizens", said Kurti.

Serbia has strongly criticized the CBK regulation, interpreting it as the goal of the Government of Kosovo to deport Serbs.

The Serbian state allocates millions of euros to Serbs in Kosovo after paying them - through a parallel system - salaries, pensions and additional assistance.

For years, the People's Bank of Serbia has sent the dinars to a safe in the municipality of Leposavic, in the north of Kosovo, and they were then transported by the international company Henderson.

The CBK has said that such a practice is illegal, as only it can export and import coins and banknotes within the territory of Kosovo.

The Government of Kosovo has said that Serbs will be able to open accounts, free of charge, where they can carry their money in dinars, which will then be converted into euros to make payments./REL