The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, met in New York with the US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, James O’Brien, and the European Union envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajčák.

In the meeting, according to the Government of Kosovo, Kurti talked with American and European officials about the issue of dialogue with Serbia, which is mediated by the European Union, and about the “recent developments in the country”.

“Prime Minister Kurti also underlined his commitment to regional cooperation on the principles of equal representation and participation among the countries of the Western Balkans and reiterated his commitment and constructive commitment in the process of normalization between Kosovo and Serbia according to the principles of the Basic Agreement and its Annex, which must be fully implemented”, the announcement said.

Kosovo and Serbia last year reached the Agreement on the path towards the normalization of relations and the Annex for its implementation.

Kosovo insists that this agreement must be signed first, even though the EU says that it is binding on the parties regardless of the signature.

However, the parties have not taken steps towards the implementation of these agreements.

The agreement of 11 articles, among other things, foresees a level of self-management for the Serbian community in Kosovo, mutual recognition of state symbols, so that Serbia does not block Kosovo’s membership in international organizations,  and asks Pristina and Belgrade to also implement all previous agreements reached during the dialogue.

The USA has asked Kosovo and Serbia to take seriously the dialogue for the normalization of relations.

However, the Government of Kosovo has faced criticism from the US, for some actions undertaken in the north of Kosovo, inhabited by a majority of Serbs, which Washington has described as uncoordinated and unilateral actions.

The American ambassador in Kosovo, Jeff Hovenier, has also stated that the USA has been challenged by Prime Minister Albin Kurti and his Government in several aspects, writes REL.

He said that the quality of the partnership between the US and Kosovo “is not what we would hope it would be in some of these issues related to the way he treats the north and how he manages the dialogue”.