US-Mediated Negotiations Between Kosovo and Serbia Reschedul
Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 10:40 am
FILE - Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, right, shakes hands with U.S. special envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Ambassador Richard Grenell, in Kosovo's capital of Pristina, Oct. 9, 2019.
The U.S. special envoy for peace talks between Kosovo and Serbia, Richard Grenell, announced through a Twitter message that leaders of both countries will meet at the White House on September 2.
He did not elaborate.
In Pristina, Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi also took to Twitter to welcome the upcoming meeting.
The prime minister of Kosovo, Avdullah Hoti, said on his Facebook account that the United States has always been crucial in the process of state-building in Kosovo.
"On September 2, we will meet at the White House to discuss with the Serbian side, as two independent countries, major economic cooperation projects that will change the economic perspective of Kosovo and the region. Kosovo is blessed with the friends it has," Hoti wrote.
The talks at the White House were originally scheduled for June 27, but Thaci canceled his visit to Washington three days earlier, because the Special Prosecutor's Office in The Hague filed a 10-count indictment against him and other Kosovo leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“The President of Kosovo has just informed us that he has canceled his trip to Washington, D.C. following the announcement made by the Special Prosecutors Office. I respect his decision not to attend the discussions until the legal issues of those allegations are settled,” Grenell tweeted on June 24, 2020.