American diplomat Christopher Hill has concluded his testimony in the trial of the former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) leaders at The Hague.

During his appearance before the Special Court, Hill stated that he had the impression Hashim Thaçi was a trustworthy interlocutor, but not a decision-maker within the KLA. According to him, Thaçi was trusted to represent the KLA’s arguments — including at the Rambouillet talks — but not to make final decisions.

Hill explained why he believed Thaçi was not the main decision-maker in the KLA, recalling details from the Rambouillet negotiations. He said Thaçi once told him that if any agreement were reached without prior consultation, “they would kill him upon his return to Kosovo.”

“I have no definitive explanation, but I have thoughts that might even contradict each other. One of them is that perhaps he was not as powerful as he appeared, since every decision he made seemed to result from extensive prior consultations. So my impression was that he was a trustworthy interlocutor, but not a decision-maker. That impression made sense when he told us he could not agree to what had been done at Rambouillet, and that if they reached an agreement without consulting others, he would be killed when he returned. A true decision-maker would not make such a comment. Personally, I understood that he was trusted to gather information, but not entrusted with making decisions. Decision-making was not left in his hands,” Hill stated.

Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi, and Rexhep Selimi have been in detention since November 2020. The former KLA leaders are accused of alleged war crimes, charges to which they have all pleaded not guilty.