Prime Minister Edi Rama at press conference on situation in north Kosovo

Prime Minister Edi Rama: Good afternoon! Situation in northern Kosovo is unfortunately taking on the proportions of a political tragedy for the Republic of Kosovo. The statements issued by our strategic allies regarding the situation are increasingly alarming and frankly speaking the reason why Kosovo authorities are faltering and hesitating to deescalate a situation that is clearly showing every hour and every day that Kosovo will be the biggest loser.

Serbia is doing what it has been doing also previously, whereas Kosovo is doing something it has never done before and, like never before, it is being globally blamed by all the strategic allies of the Albanian nation.

With the understanding that Kosovo’s relations with the allies are assuming increasingly ultimatum tones and with the restoring the previous state seemingly to take an increasingly longer time, if Kosovo -and I wish and hope it won’t happen – will be sanctioned for its position, I am here today to inform you of a previously unknown fact to date.

For a long time now, I knew that the Association of Serbian-majority Municipalities would be the Gordian knot in the dialogue and it is my conviction that neither side wants the Association and will do their best to delay it indefinitely, for the crisis to go on with all sorts of political or technical artifices.

On the other hand, I am increasingly convinced that creation of the Association is the key to finally open the door of the Republic of Kosovo to international affirmation, its recognition by everyone, its membership with the United Nations and all international bodies and mutual recognition with Serbia.

Yesterday, I forwarded to Scholz and Macron, the two sponsors of the Franco-German proposal,  a draft on the Association, of which I also informed President of the EU Council Charles Michel and the American side. It is a draft drawn up by American and European experts of the highest level for a long time now, specifically designed should this day was ever to come, this day when the two parties –  and in this case Kosovo’s position is incomprehensible since, I repeat, Serbia is doing what it has done previously- won’t agree on who should word the text let alone what the text should contain.

It is certainly a confidential document, which does in no way pretend to be the ideal solution, but I assure you that it is a document of the highest international level that takes into consideration all the reasons for the creation of the Association and that the Association is part of the organization of life for the Republic of Kosovo, addressing all the recommendations and the conclusions of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo.

I wish and very much hope that this document will be useful to take the dialogue to another level and to make the parties talk about concrete things, things related to the successful conclusion of the dialogue process and not to talk to themselves and about themselves.

This is what I wished to share publicly. Of course, the reason why I share it publicly today is what I already said; because the situation is becoming alarming and I stand idle watching Kosovo as it keeps shrinking in the eyes of those who created the state of Kosovo.