Kosovo prime minister, Albin Kurti, wrote a letter to US president Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo informing them on his decision to drop tariffs on Serbian and Bosnia-Herzegovina goods. He also informed US President Trump and Secretary Pompeo that he will be in charge of leading the dialogue with Serbia.
Kurti in his letter sent to US President Trump informed him on the governing program and thanked the US on continuous support for Kosovo, as well as your commitment towards creating economic opportunity, security, and lasting peace in the Balkans. “We very much appreciate the personal interest you have shown in the future of our country and our region,” Kurti said in his letter.
“My government and I are committed to resolving the remaining issues between the Republic of Kosovo and Serbia. We are convinced that this should be done within a process of dialogue, that would culminate with the mutual recognition of both states. We believe that this is an important path towards integration of Kosovo in the international community and obtaining an historical agreement that will create lasting peace, stability and security in the Balkans,” Kurti wrote in his letter.
Kurti also informed the US President Trump on his intention to drop tariffs on Serbian goods. “In this regard, effective as of March 15, we will begin to remove tariffs on goods from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina that were imposed by the previous government. Initially we will lift the tariffs on raw materials. We do this as a gesture of diplomatic good will and to signal our commitment to working closely with the United States on the dialogue with Serbia. We hope that our action will be reciprocated by Belgrade, which we expect to remove all remaining non-tariff barriers to trade with Kosova as well as end its derecognition campaign against Kosova,” Kurti said. Kosovo Prime Minister called on the United States and the European Union to establish monitoring and sanctioning mechanisms to ensure that both sides abide by commitments made in existing and future agreements between both sides.
Kurti said that he as a prime minister will be fully in charge of the dialogue with Belgrade. “My government and I as its Prime Minister have the constitutional mandate, the political will, as well as the legal duty to take full and exclusive charge in leading this process and representing Kosovo at the highest diplomatic level. I look forward to working together with you, your diplomats and emissaries, and our partners in the European Union to move this process forward,” Kurti wrote in his letter.
“My government sees Kosovo’s relationship with the United States as one with the highest strategic importance to our nation, and an alliance that is based on deeply shared values and interests. Your administration already has had a huge positive impact in the Western Balkans, bringing about new energy and practicality to problem-solving issues, which we very much welcome. We look forward to deepening our partnership and working closely with the United States on enhancing economic opportunity, strengthening the rule of law, enhancing regional security, moving the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue forward, as well as a wide range of other issues,” Kurti concluded in his letter. /GazetaExpress/
