TIRANA, July 8 /ATA/ – The Special US Envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar said in an interview that three-point plan of the European Union is the only way to defuse tensions and end the crisis in northern Kosovo.
Commenting on recent situation in Kosovo during an interview for the Croatian newspaper Jutarnji List, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Gabriel Escobar also noted that there were indications suggesting that Serbia’s President Vucic may accept the EU-sponsored plan.
However, Escobar acknowledged he couldn’t say the same about Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
“There are ‘positive indications’ that Belgrade could accept it, but I cannot say the same about Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti,” Escobar said, according to Jutarnji List.
“We hope that (Kurti) will at some point comply with the European and American requirement,” Escobar said.
He emphasized that the consequence of not accepting the European plan would be a lost opportunity.
“It is not a punitive measure, it is a missed opportunity,” Escobar added.
When asked what consequences this could have for Kosovo and whether one of them would be the withdrawal of KFOR, Escobar said that this possibility was “not on the table”.
“Our partnership with Kosovo is a partnership with the people of Kosovo, not with one party or one political figure,” the U.S. Envoy for the Western Balkans said.
/KlanKosova/ k.s/u.sh/
