US Senator Chris Murphy reiterated in an interview for Balkans Debrief with Ilva Tare that the United States and Kosovo are in extricable links but friends should deliver tough messages to friends.<\/p>\n
Fresh from his visit in the region where Senator Murphy met with Kosovo and Serbia\u2019s leaders, he urges both sides to get back to schedule and move towards the normalization.<\/p>\n
Senator Murphy insists that \u201cthere is no reason why the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities not to be formed immediately, and that Prime Minister Albin Kurti has had plenty of time to draft a reasonable framework for this Association. Time is of the essence both for elections and the establishment of the Association, but when it comes to Serbia\u2019s obligations. Serbia needs to stop taking its own provocative actions in the north and has to make sure that it is allowing Kosovo to join these international institutions instead of standing up roadblocks after roadblocks\u201d.<\/p>\n
The US Senate has issued a bipartisan statement urging Pristina and Belgrade to address the fragile security situation in the north of Kosovo. In order to do so, the Government of Kosovo should make concessions that are necessary, says Murphy.<\/p>\n
\u201cEstablishing the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities, Serbia\u2019s getting out of the way when it comes to Kosovo\u2019s international recognition. These are not unsurmountable obstacles, and we should be able to get back on track,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Asked by Balkans Debrief host Ilva Tare about the critics claiming an unbalanced response by the United States and the European Union when placing the main responsibility on Kosovo and lack of condemnation towards armed militias involved in the crisis in the north as denounced by PM Kurti, Senator Murphy said that \u201cno one should be of the illusion that the US and Kosovo are not in extricable links together. We, of course, more so than any other country, are responsible for the existence of Kosovo and we have provided billions of US dollars and thousands of US troops to defend the sovereignty of Kosovo. But sometimes friends need to deliver tough messages to friends. And the precipitating actions that caused this last crisis were made in Pristina. The decision to require these mayors to occupy those municipal buildings after an election in which only 3% of the electorate turned out was an unnecessary provocative act and I and other leaders in the US are going to call it as it is,\u201d said Senator Murphy.<\/p>\n
He continued, \u201cI have plenty of criticism for the Serbian government. I have been very open in my displeasure of their failure to join the US and EU sanctions against Russia. Over and over, the Serbian Government has taken acts in northern Kosovo that have discouraged peace, but what happen 3 weeks ago, did not have to happen and if Pristina had made a different decision, we likely could still be on track towards the components of the agreements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Losing the US support is at risk if Kosovo and Serbia do not work towards normalization.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe US has a major military presence in Kosovo and we are proud of that presence, we have a growing economic cooperation with Serbia, and a growing security relationship with Serbia is doing more to help Ukraine despite of Russia. My message is very simple, my constituents will not be willing to send money into the region if they don\u2019t see leaders taking the steps necessary to maintain peace,\u201d warned Senator Murphy.<\/p>\n
While the protests against President Vu\u010di\u0107 are ongoing in Belgrade and a New York Times article links him to organized hooligans in Serbia, is his credibility at play? Senator Murphy says that his concerns about weakening of democracy in Serbia have been raised in the meetings with the Serbian President.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really worry for the future of Serbia if there isn\u2019t the ability of the press to hold the government accountable and if there isn\u2019t the ability for the opposition to present a real choice to Serbs. In some levels, I am heartened to see so many people out on the streets exercising democratic rights and we have not seen a show of force from the government to try to break up those protests. I just want to make sure that Serbia remains a democratic country, a place where it is up to the voters to decide who their leaders are in their future,\u201d concluded Senator Murphy his interview for Balkans Debrief.<\/p>\n
Watch the full interview in the following link:<\/p>\n