Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced this evening that the meeting planned for Wednesday between the governments of Albania and Kosovo is cancelled, because there is no agreement with Kosovo Prime Minister Aljbin Kurti.
"We are in the conditions of a tightening of relations between Kosovo and the entire Euro-Atlantic community, and this meeting cannot be held in the expected format, after I spoke with the EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borella," said Rama at the press conference, reports Kosovo online.
He stated that he asked Kurti to meet tomorrow in Djakovica in a narrower format and discuss the situation that is dramatic for the relations between Kosovo and the Euro-Atlantic community.
"I must say that we did not agree with Kurti on the change of format, because he asked for the meeting to take place as planned, but that is not possible, because it is not the moment to organize it as if nothing is happening." Maybe that is not the prime minister's final answer," said Rama.
The Albanian Prime Minister explained that a meeting between the two governments is not possible because Kosovo is moving towards sanctions, and he also stated that he asked the Western governments not to impose sanctions on the Kosovo authorities for the time being.
"We are 100 percent against the way the Kosovo government is acting now," said Rama.
The governments of Kosovo and Albania were supposed to hold a joint session in Djakovica and sign several agreements.
Kurti's five points
Kosovo
Edi Rama: Is Albania turning its back on Kurti?
The meeting of the governments of Albania and Kosovo has been cancelled. The Albanian Prime Minister explained that the meeting is not possible because Kosovo is moving towards sanctions
Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti presented a five-point plan today, which, according to his opinion, would contribute to calming tensions in the north of Kosovo, the media in Pristina reported.
Kurti said at the press conference that on Monday he was also in contact with the EU's special representative for dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia, Miroslav Lajčak, and the American ambassador to Kosovo, Geoffrey Hovenier, writes RTK2.
According to him, the government is interested in de-escalating the situation in the north and normalizing relations between the two countries.
The first point of the plan is the rule of law in the four municipalities in the north, the identification and prosecution of those who attacked the police, KFOR and journalists, the second point is that violent groups should immediately withdraw from the territory of Kosovo, and the third is that the Kosovo Police, KFOR and EULEX conduct joint security assessments every 15 days.
The fourth point of the plan is that the Government of Kosovo will coordinate with all actors and call for special elections in four municipalities in the north, which will be held in a free and democratic atmosphere.
The last, fifth point envisages that Kosovo and Serbia immediately return to the dialogue in which the EU ensures the implementation of the agreement reached, as well as the organization of a high-level meeting as soon as possible.
Kurti stated that today he met with the ambassadors of the Quinte countries - USA, Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy in order to convey to them the proposal for reducing tensions in the north of Kosovo.
NATO soldiers in distress
American Senator Chris Murphy said today that the decisions of Kosovo Prime Minister Aljbin Kurti regarding the actions in the north of Kosovo in the last 30 days put American and other NATO troops in unnecessary danger, the Pristina portal Reporters reported.
In an interview with the Atlantic Council, Murphy said that this will not bring any good to Kosovo when it comes to international funding.
"When Kurti decided to hold elections in the north of Kosovo, it made sense for mayors to take an oath, but I don't believe it was necessary for them to have access to municipal buildings, in an action that the government in Pristina knew would trigger a reaction that would become violent," Murphy said.
BG/FoNet
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