The new Kosovo “prime minister” Albin Kuri said that the US-lobbied agreement on the resumption of railway communication with Belgrade is being “pushed” over his head.
Balkan media reported this, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Kosovo “President” Hashim Thaci flew to the security conference in Munich separately from the newly elected “Prime Minister” Albin Kurti. Without the participation of the latter, a protocol of intent to resume railway traffic and build a high-speed route was concluded between Pristina and Belgrade through the mediation of the special representative of the US President Richard Grenell.
This displeased Kurti, who blamed Thaci for not agreeing with him on the Munich agenda and not being notified of the intention to conclude such an agreement.
There has long been a tense relationship between Thaci and Kurti; the “prime minister,” as a supporter of “Greater Albania” (the unification of all lands inhabited by Albanians into one state), often spoke unflatteringly about the “president,” actually accusing him of being a conciliator.
“The world helped Kosovo free Serbia, now it must help Serbia free itself from Kosovo, because this is only a burden for Serbia,” the Kosovo prime minister said, according to eyewitnesses, during his speech at a closed panel on the Western Balkans, which took place as part of the Munich Security Conference .
Kurti’s words provoked a sharp response from Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who was present at the event, and reminded the separatist leader that “Kosovo is part of Serbia in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244.”
“Half of the UN member states and more than half of the world’s population do not recognize Kosovo,” the Serbian president concluded.
But this did not cool the ardor of the separatist “prime minister,” who was first introduced to his Balkan colleagues. He criticized the “Balkan mini-Schengen”, saying that this idea should be returned to the framework of the Berlin process (regular consultations of Balkan states under the supervision of the EU held since 2014, which have not brought any significant results). He also proposed establishing a “Balkan Marshall Plan”, within the framework of which all six states of the Western Balkans would be admitted to the EU at once.
In turn, one of the participants in the discussion at the forum (sources do not indicate the name) called Kurti’s previous words about the Balkan mini-Schengen as a “fourth Yugoslavia” that is “beneficial to Belgrade” as “stupidity.”
The fact that among the Albanian separatists any agreements with Serbia are perceived with hostility is confirmed by the statement made by veterans of the Kosovo Liberation Army after the signing of the protocol in Munich. Representatives of the armed formations of Albanian militants who terrorized Kosovo in the 90s demanded that the government “clarify” the meaning of the agreements.