US Ambassador in Pristina Sparks Kosovo Partition Speculations

US Ambassador to Pristina avoids to say whether partition of Kosovo would be acceptable to Washington, boosting speculations there is a switch in US stance on Kosovo issue.

The US Ambassador to Pristina, Greg Delawie. Photo: Kallxo/BIRN

America’s ambassador to Kosovo has sparked concerns that the US might endorse Kosovo’s partition after declining to rule it out in an interview.

In the interview given to Kosovo’s KTV on Thursday, Greg Delawie avoided giving a straight answer, when asked whether the US excluded partition as a solution to the Serbia-Kosovo dispute.

“I’m not going to talk about what an element of the final deal will be, I’m not going to talk about who I think should be leading this discussion in Brussels, and I’m not going to talk about ancillary details like what room it should be in or the shape of the table,” ambassador Delawie replied.

Asked what the US stand on partition was, Delawie replied that Kosovo would have to agree on whatever the final deal may be.

“I’m not going to get at what could be the elements of a deal, of an agreement, at this point. … I can say that Kosovo politicians, Kosovo citizens, are fully capable of making these decisions on the negotiating positions themselves, and the United States will be standing by them as they talk about these things,” Delawie said.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, which Belgrade has refused to recognise. EU-mediated talks on normalisation of relations were launched in Brussels in 2011. Since June, both sides have stated that the talks are entering the final stage.

The US, meanwhile, was one of the first countries to recognise Kosovo’s independence and was seen as one of the key backers of Kosovo’s stand that its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity were non-negotiable.

In February, the US embassy to Kosovo told Radio Free Europe: “We do not support the exchange of territories or the establishment of precedents that would cause more problems than solutions, but all parties need to be creative in finding a solution.”

Shpend Ahmeti, leader of the Social Democratic Party, PSD, and Pristina mayor, wrote on his Facebook following US ambassador’s interview that Delawie’s comments reveal a “a fundamental change of the American position.”

Ramish Haradinaj, Kosovo Prime Minister, previously said that partition of Kosovo for him would mean “war”.

“Division for me is war, I say this without hesitation and it is dangerous to talk about division.

“There is no division, no exchange of territories, movement of the borders. It is dangerous, it cannot be done under these circumstances,” Haradinaj told TV Dukagjini on Thursday, asked about the proposal made by Kosovo MP from opposition Democratic League of Kosovo, LDK, Lutfi Haziri for exchange of territories with Serbia.

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