TIRANA, June 10 – Kosovo’s prime minister Albin Kurti defied calls from key allies in the US and Europe to dial back a confrontation with Serbia saying that Belgrade must make the first move to de-escalate.
Kurti made that comment in an interview with Bloomberg on Saturday.
“Serbia must end support for the militia that sparked protests in northern Kosovo last month and those responsible must be prosecuted before the government considers easing its stay,” Prime Minister Kurti said in a phone interview.
“We cannot submit as a democratic republic to this violent militia,” he said. “We want things to be resolved as soon as possible, but you know it’s not just up to us.”
Denouncing criticism from allies as “unfair”, he made it clear that his government is not backing down, despite mounting pressure from the US and Europe.
“It is not good to bully Kosovo”, he said. “Every time the United States asks us for something, we don’t ask why, but only when and how,” he added, calling the exclusion from military exercises “unfair.” /argumentum.al
