Osmani: Actions to extend sovereignty are legitimate, success depends on cooperation with allies

2024-08-31 19:35:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Osmani: Actions to extend sovereignty are legitimate, success depends on

Vjosa Osmani, President of Kosovo

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, told Radio Free Europe on Saturday that actions to extend sovereignty in Kosovo are legitimate actions and in accordance with the Constitution of Kosovo, but that their success and sustainability depend on cooperation with allies.

She made these statements after being asked about the reactions of the West on August 30, after the closure of five parallel facilities in the north of Kosovo. According to the Government of Kosovo, these institutions have been operating under the leadership of Serbia and have violated the constitutionality and laws of the country.

The US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, James O'Brien, has called on the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, to stop, as he said, "uncoordinated actions that negatively affect our partnership".

She called not to allow "any dark force, any state that has malicious intentions towards Kosovo and the region, to create division between us and our allies".

"This division, in the long term, costs Kosovo a lot. Kosovo has the possibility to be successful in pretending sovereignty, together with the allies. More communication, more consultation, more coordination is required."

Asked if senior American officials, including the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), have mentioned in meetings in recent days the deterioration of relations with the Government of Kosovo, she said that the US has been clear at every level that relations with the people of Kosovo, with Kosovo as a state, are very strong.

"We must find ways to strengthen the partnership, we must find ways so that the debate in Kosovo is never about 'have we broken with America or not?', but rather how we are strengthening those relations, because it is only in the interest of Kosovo".

She has said that she will meet within Globsec with American officials to discuss all the current challenges.

Osmani did not want to comment on why on Saturday, August 31, an increased presence of the forces of the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR, was observed on the main bridge over the Ibër river.

The president said that KFOR should be asked about this, but even this institution has not answered the questions of Radio Free Europe.

Osmani mentioned the issue of the bridge when he was asked how the golden mean can be found between the actions of the Government and the demands of the West.

"The middle is everyone's understanding that there are topics that should not be part of the dialogue with Serbia, because they have ended as such, because agreements and implementation plans have been reached, such as the issue of the bridge, the issue of dissolution of illegal structures, they were closed in 2013, and there are topics that are not even in the interest of Kosovo, because it would be a violation of sovereignty and the Constitution, if they were opened for negotiations with another state, in this case with Serbia. On the other hand, we should be clear that one of the biggest strengths of Kosovo, one of the biggest advantages of Kosovo over the years is that it has had allies on its side".

The West has recently increased its criticism of the Government of Kosovo, for what it considers unilateral actions.

Among them is the effort of the Government of Kosovo at the beginning of August to open the main bridge over the river Ibër, which divides the Southern Mitrovica with an Albanian majority and the Northern Mitrovica with a Serbian majority.

The bridge is open for pedestrian traffic, but not for vehicles.

The American ambassador in Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, had warned those days against opening the bridge, saying that such an action endangers American soldiers.

Even the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR, which has a permanent presence on the bridge, has said that it will not hesitate to act if the security in that part is endangered./REL