The Deputy Assistant Secretary at the US Department of State for Europe and Euro-Asia, Gabriel Escobar, said that violence shouldn’t be used to take control of a political party, while adding that he condemns the violence that erupted during this weekend’s protest at the Democratic Party headquarters.
On January 8, the former president of Albania, Sali Berisha, staged a protest at DP’s headquarters, in an attempt to take back DP and force the current chair, Lulzim Basha, to step down.
Berisha and several other members of the Democratic Party have been either permanently expelled or suspended from the party.
Meanwhile, the United States has recently declared Berisha and his close family members persona non grata, thus banning them from entering US soil.
In an interview for VOA, Escobar, who is simultaneously the United States’ Special Envoy for the Western Balkans, warned of more sanctions against this region that will be announced in the near future.
“I have said that I don’t like to speak about sanctions in general, for many reasons, but especially due to the fact that this isn’t the way that the US likes to get involved in the region, especially in Albania,” – said Escobar.
He also noted that the sights that took place on January 8, where Berisha’s supporters tried to break into DP’s headquarters by force, won’t be repeated.
Meanwhile, when asked about the possibility of achieving an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, Escobar said that he hopes that there will be progress in terms of the EU-mediated dialogue between both countries.
In addition, he said that during the year, the US will be intensively committed to engaging with the parties involved in the process.
The dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia began back in 2011. This process is aimed at achieving an agreement to normalize the rapport between both countries.
Kosovo’s PM, Albin Kurti, has declared that it is very possible that an agreement will be reached during his term as prime minister and during Joe Biden’s term as US president.
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