The U.S. diplomat issued these statements following a meeting with the Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

Last month, Kosovo’s Central Bank approved a new regulation, stipulating that Euro is the only currency allowed for cash payments in the Kosovo payments system.

The decision bans the use of the Serbian dinar and it stipulates that currencies other than the euro can be used in Kosovo only as safekeeping in physical form or bank accounts.

Hovenier stated that the U.S. certainly supports efforts to combat financial crime, money laundering and terrorist financing.

“However, we are profoundly concerned how the regulation is enforced, because we believe it fails to consider the concern of the communities,” he said.

Asked if the US government would envisage taking action against Kosovo if it fails to comply with this request, Hovenier said “we hope the government will be our partner”, adding that if the opposite happens, “this will have an effect on the quality of our partnership”.

The European Union and the United States expressed their deep concern Sunday after Kosovo banned the use of the Serbian currency and police raided the premises of organizations working with the Serb minority in the north of the country.

Most of Kosovo uses the euro, even though the country isn’t part of the EU. But parts of Kosovo’s north, populated mostly by ethnic Serbs, continue to use the dinar. Many rely on the government of Serbia for financial support, often delivered in dinars in cash.

Starting Feb. 1, Kosovo required ethnic Serbian-dominated areas to adopt the euro currency, which is used in the rest of the country, and abolished the use of the Serbian dinar.

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