Pristina: Mutual recognition clear goal in dialogue with Belgrade

Avdulah Hoti
Armend Nimani/AFP

Kosovo's acting Prime Minister Avdulah Hoti said on Thursday that Pristina entered the dialogue on the normalisation of relations with Belgrade based on clear principles that should lead to mutual recognition, the idea which Serbia's current authorities vehemently rejected.

„We started the dialogue with Serbia with crystal clear message – Kosovo’s Constitution has been and is the guideline,“ Hoti wrote on his Facebook profile.

He said he had to react to „false things are being said.“

„With regard to my approach and the Government of the Republic of Kosovo in relation to the dialogue process, false things are being said, so I would like to clarify:
We have entered into dialogue with Serbia on clear principles:
– The Constitution of Kosovo has been and remains a guide.
– Kosovo territorial integrity is non-negotiable.
– Kosovo’s constitutional organization is not affected.
– There is no association with executive powers.
– The final agreement should include mutual recognition between the two countries.
These principles are also supported by our partners. There will be no movement from these principles,“ Hoti wrote.

His party faces early elections on February 14, after the Constitutional Court ruled his cabinet’s election last June was illegal.

In the meantime, Përparim Kryeziu, the spokesperson for the Self-Determination movement, said the party’s head and former prime minister Albin Kurti would be its candidate for the head of a new government expected to be formed after the early vote.