Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi commented on the latest developments in Kosovo, more specifically the issue of the Kosovo border with Montenegro. He  initially talked about the perspective of  Kosovo –Serbia’s talks, expected to enter a new phase.

Voice of America: Mr. President, at the end of last month, you met with the President of Serbia Alexander Vucic and agreed on a new phase of talks. What does this new phase of negotiations mean?

President Thaçi: Dialogue between the state of Kosovo and Serbia has no alternative, neighboring relations must be saved. It’s a win-win situation for both countries, but also for the international investments in Kosovo, Serbia and the region, because Kosovo-Serbia peace means stability for the whole region and a safe Euro-Atlantic perspective for Kosovo and European for Serbia, so it will be a situation where both countries will get beneficial, but above all for the Euro-Atlantic values. I want to believe that a new dialogue page will be opened between the state of Kosovo and Serbia or it will be the final phase, which implies a safe perspective for Kosovo to integrate into the United Nations organization, of course Euro-Atlantic perspective but also for Serbia a faster European perspective.

Voice of America: You already announced that the meetings could take place here in the United States. Is such a meeting expected during United Nations Assembly meetings?

President Thaçi: The European Union, Mrs. Mogherini( High Representative of the European Union), will have the lead role, but of course I have always wanted the United States to have their active role, because it provides hope, confidence and guarantee for the institutions of Kosovo that the process can succeed  in both reaching an agreement and then the implementation. There might be more frequent meetings and I would like to wish that with the European Union’s facilitation  and the United States of America, there will be a meeting in New York and in the next ten days between the President of Serbia and Kosovo’s President.

Voice of America: Mr. President, recently you talk about a closer involvement of the United States in talks with Serbia, up to what level is the extent of this American involvement?

President Thaçi: It is important for the United States of America, the new administration to have a very clear stand on this process. We have also discussed here in Washington yesterday, I have full confidence that there will be an involvement of the decision-making level and not just of observers in the process by the United States, to give Mogherini a strong support because only the engagement of common and established Union and the United States and other factors could bring a lasting, efficient, enforceable agreement and of course a final agreement that would imply Kosovo’s membership to the UN.

Voice of America: Will you persist on Serbia recognizing Kosovo or simply normalizing the relations?

President Thaçi: We will work for the full normalization of state relations but also reconciliation between our two natons because it is beneficial for both Kosovo and Serbia and the region, and we will work hard that Kosovo soon becomes a member of the United Nations. But I believe that the recognition ,  will happen in the near future, while for the period of time that the process will take , the Serbian institutions will decide themselves. We can not impose time frames or their agenda regarding Kosovo’s recognition, but one thing is for sure that Kosovo and Serbia are left in a status quo so we must facilitate the European and Euro-Atlantic perspective to each other and not to impede one another.

Voice of America: You came here in Washington just a few days after the creation of a new Kosovo government, which actually faces old challenges such as the border marking with Montenegro. Prime Minister Haradinaj has dismissed the State Commission reached on the agreement signed by you. How do you evaluate this action?

President Thaçi: It is extremely important that Kosovo concluded a very successful electoral process on 11 June that was fair and democratic elections, acceptable to all and assessed by the international community. The second very important thing that Kosovo was not delayed to form institutions, both the parliament and the government. Now Kosovo has legitimate, democratic, stable and multi ethnic institutions, so we will continue with the agenda we had earlier and I believe that new agenda will also emerge, which implies the deepening of democratic reforms in the economy, legislation, but also in other areas. We must also commit ourselves to the completion of the visa liberalization process, the formation of the Kosovo Army, but all of these require the implementation of the necessary  criteria for visa liberalization and border marking. The issue of marking the border with Montenegro is no longer an inter-state issue between Kosovo and Montenegro, but more of Kosovo’s own issue to make their decision in the Kosovo parliament, so I want to believe that each of the political and economic entities leaders will be not built on the narrow electoral interests, thus to overpass the border issue with Montenegro and heading the perspective for visa liberalization for Kosovo /VOA 

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translated from Albanian tvklan.al