Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti has said no agreement has been reached between Kosovo and Serbia on suspension of senior officials visits. Media reported Thursday that Pristina and Belgrade reached a memorandum of understanding for suspension of visits.
Hoti in a Facebook post said the Government of Kosovo respects the Agreement on freedom of movement reached between Kosovo and Serbia during the EU-facilitated dialogue in Brussels recalling that based on this deal each visit of Serbian senior officials and politicians should be analysed by relevant institutions before being approved or dismissed.
“The reports on reaching of a memorandum of understanding, between the Republic of Kosovo and Serbia on visits of Serbia’s senior officials are not true. The Government respects the Agreement on freedom of movement. But each request to visit Kosovo should be analysed by relevant institutions before getting approval or dismissed,” Hoti said.
Radio Free Europe quoting its sources from Brussels reported Thursday that the MoU on official visits was reached after Kosovo rejected a request of senior Serbian officials to visit Kosovo. Kosovo media published Thursday a letter the EU Special Representative on Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, sent to Kosovo PM Hoti saying that Kosovo violated the Agreement on freedom of movement it has signed in Brussels by not allowing Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic to visit Kosovo last week. The letter was sent to Hoti on 23 November two days after Kosovo Foreign Minister Meliza Haradinaj-Stublla announced that they have rejected a request for Vucic to visit northern part of Kosovo inhabited mainly by Serbs.
Kosovo PM Hoti refutes reports about his resignation
In the meantime several online media outlets reported Thursday that prime minister Avdullah Hoti is intending to resign, but Hoti in a Facebook post on Friday said that those reports are not true, Gazeta Express reported.
“Reports circulating in media about my resignation are not true. With my actions I have proven the readiness and commitment to offer solutions to all open issues, by unblocking even the most complicated processes that Kosovo is going through such as the decision to resume the dialogue with Serbia, reaching of the agreement in Washington on 4 September, drafting of the emergency package and package on economic recovery as well as taking concrete measures in managing COVID-19 pandemic,” Hoti wrote on Facebook.
Hoti’s reaction came after journalist Astrit Gashi attending a debate in TV Dukagjini said that he learned Hoti has offered his resignation as prime minister due to disagreements within the ruling coalition. His statement was reported by several online media, prompting Hoti’s reaction on Friday.