The American ambassador in Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, in a meeting with some journalists in Pristina, said that the Government of Kosovo has not coordinated with the United States for the actions taken on Friday.
On that day, the new Albanian mayors of the Serb-majority municipalities in the north of Kosovo, Zubin Potok, Leposaviq and Zveçan, entered the municipal buildings with the help of the Kosovo Police, despite the resistance of the local Serb residents.
“When we found out, we reacted strongly against it. The decision has had a negative impact on Kosovo’s reputation and has reversed efforts towards the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia,” said Hovenier.
He quoted the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who said that these actions will affect US-Kosovo relations.
Hovenier said that the cancellation of Kosovo’s participation in the “Defender Europe 2023” exercises, is the first consequence for the Government of Kosovo in this regard.
“Today there was no activity for ‘Defender Europe ’23’ and there won’t be. For Kosovo, those exercises have ended,” said Hovenier.
“We have asked the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, to take steps towards reducing tensions in the north. He has not responded to these requests. We are analyzing what our next actions will be”, he added.
In the meeting with journalists in Pristina, Hovenier also spoke about the current disposition of the USA towards Kosovo.
“I have to say that in this comment, the USA does not have much enthusiasm to react to some of Kosovo’s interests, such as engagement with unrecognized countries, or active work to advance Kosovo on the Euro-Atlantic path,” he said.
