FLASH
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The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has spoken about the clash with the allies over the issue of the Serbian dinar.
He stated that he was not aware of the decision to be taken by the Central Bank of Kosovo. Kurti said that the pressure on him started after Vucic propagandized that this decision will bring "disaster" for Kosovo Serbs.
"On December 28 of last year, the Central Bank made this decision, for the new regulation, and they did well. I had no idea about this decision or the drafting of this regulation. Everything was going well and without problems and in the middle of January, just after the preparations were going well, Serbian President Vučić alerted the region and Europe that the "catastrophe" will happen from February 1 when the dinar will be excluded. And then the pressure on me started, when Vucic spoke.
We are not ruling out the dinar, you can have dinars in Kosovo but the means of payment is the euro, according to the Constitution there can only be one currency. We want to help the Serbs and there is no government since we declared independence that has helped the Serbian community more than us ," Kurti said during an interview in Munich for the Security Conference.
Senior American officials in recent days criticized the Government of Kosovo for ignoring the American request to postpone the decision to implement the regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo.
They described this as a unilateral decision that could also have consequences in the partnership with the USA.
The US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, James O'Brien, said that the United States may not treat Kosovo as a partner if it makes decisions without consulting it, after the decision to ban the dinar.
In an interview with VOA last week, O'Brien said: “I don't make vague threats publicly. I would say, if we are not treated as partners, we will not treat the government of Kosovo as a partner either".
But, O'Brien said on Tuesday that Kosovo should suspend the CBK decision immediately and work as a "modern European state" to find a solution to "this concrete problem".
"People need to know how they will pay their bills. When I read the statement of the Central Bank, it does not say that the use of the dinar will be allowed. Says an alternative will be offered. This had to be done before implementing the decision in cooperation with the affected communities and with the neighbors who are affected by the decision and frankly with the European Union and with us" , said O'Brien.
In line with this statement of O'Brien, last week also the American ambassador in Kosovo, Jeff Hovenier, who responded to the Kurti Government who declared that there is no risk of a rupture of the partnership with the USA.
Hovenier emphasized again that this situation has affected the partnership of the USA with Kosovo, thereby refuting Kurti and his subordinates in the Government, since the sensational interview of O'Brien.
"O'Brien made it clear that if the Government of Kosovo does not consider us a partner, we will not consider it as such either. I have heard in interviews that this situation has not affected our relations. I want to be clear, it's just not true. This situation has affected our partnership. Any other explanation is a misunderstanding," the American ambassador said at an extraordinary conference last week.
Meanwhile, the American Emissary, Gabriel Escobar, said yesterday that the Government of Kosovo, with the non-fulfillment of the American demand for the issue of the Serbian dinar, is not treating Washington as a partner.
"I don't want to talk about what all the consequences are, but I think that our public statements have clearly shown where our diplomatic and political relations are going. We are very concerned because the Government of Kosovo is not treating us as a partner, they are not working with us for regional stability and are undermining the dialogue, a process to which the US is fully committed. I think the American ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, said it best: this complicates our capacity to help Kosovo integrate into the transatlantic community", said Escobar in an interview for the Voice of America.
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