Kosovo’s Kurti threatened with sanctions

NEWS 07.06.202323:42
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If Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti fails to respond positively to the requests placed before him Kosovo could face sanctions.

Albanian Post has learnt from diplomatic sources that the sanctions – both against Kurti and one of his ministers, and against Kosovo – will be harsh and unprecedented in the history of Kosovo.

If the situation on the ground deteriorates and security and KFOR troops are seriously threatened, Prime Minister Kurti and Internal Affairs Minister Xhelal Svecla could be declared personae non gratae, “based on that they represent a threat to security and peace,” international sources close to the negotiation process told the Albanian Post.

However, this is the final phase, which is, at this point, only hypothetical and the international community hopes there will be no need for such drastic developments, KoSSev reported.

The source explained that the transatlantic community has a vital need not to allow a crisis center behind the lines of contact with Russia.

According to the source, the sanctions would have two phases.

The first phase would start off with the freezing all European Union (EU) funds, halting the visa liberalization process and the Council of Europe membership process, followed by the freezing of American funds and of the program “supporting Kosovo security forces.”

The second phase of sanctions, if Prime Minister Kurti refuses to cooperate with partners, that is, fails to fulfill the obligations in the dialogue, will be broader and focused on the political and security level.

Phase two would see the international community taking “a passive attitude towards Serbia’s derecognition campaign against Kosovo.”

This will also result in Kosovo’s expulsion from certain international organizations. Kosovo is currently a member of 150 various international organizations.

One of the harshest sanctions, according to Albanian Post’s diplomatic sources, will be the “reorganization of the international military presence.”

This reorganization will focus on northern Kosovo where, under Resolution 1244, KFOR would take full control of the area, restoring the situation to the time before 2004, with Kosovo practically having no control.

We don’t have a problem with the people of Kosovo, but with Prime Minister Kurti, US envoy Gabriel Escobar said on Wednesday, placing emphasis on Kosovo’s political leader, thus the last phase includes sanctions against Kurti and his ministers.

However, all this is still hypothetical, because Kurti and his Government have until Friday to decide on fulfilling the three international community requests and avoid the sanctions, although mutual trust has been irreversibly damaged, KoSSev reported.