Report / US sanctions politicians who promote the "union" of Kosovo and Albania

The United States calls on Kosovo and Serbia to engage in a European Union-mediated dialogue in the "spirit of necessary compromise" to reach an agreement on the normalization of relations.

"We continue to call on Kosovo and Serbia to prioritize the EU-mediated dialogue, to work to minimize tensions and to pursue negotiations with the flexibility and compromise needed to reach a comprehensive normalization agreement that will "enable their respective European path," a State Department spokesman told Radio Free Europe.

The DASH responded by responding to REL's questions about a report recently published by the Johns Hopkins University Institute for Foreign Policy (SAIS) and the Wilson Center, which recommended that the US administration impose sanctions on politicians. Kosovo and Albania that with their statements promote the unification of both countries.

"We appreciate the academic and organizational perspective on these issues. "The United States is committed to a sovereign, independent, multi-tech Kosovo, as enshrined in its Constitution," said the DASH spokesman, without commenting on the report.

One of the contributors to the report, entitled "From Crisis to Convergence - Strategy to Tackle Instability and Its Source in the Balkans," Lulzim Peci told Radio Free Europe that he sees the US as a real opportunity to sanction politicians who promote The "union" of Kosovo and Albania.

" In the near future, if the main political actors do not change their political positions, I think this option is very real, because, practically, such rhetoric hinders the stabilization of the Balkans, but also the achievement of a solution between Kosovo. and Serbia ", said Peci.

But, the imposition of sanctions on this issue does not seem like a real measure for the expert on political issues, Agon Maliqi.

"The United States has no practice of sanctioning opinions. In such cases, the avoidance of visits or political isolation is practiced " , said Maliqi for Radio Free Europe.

Recently, the United States has imposed sanctions on politicians in the Western Balkans over allegations of their involvement in corruption.

Në maj të vitit 2021, ish-presidenti i Shqipërisë, Sali Berisha u shpall 'persona non grata' (person i padëshiruar) për shkak të, siç tha Uashingtoni, përfshirjes në korrupsion të gjerë.

Ndërkaq, më 5 janar 2022, SHBA-ja zgjeroi sanksionet ndaj anëtarit serb të Presidencës së Bosnje e Hercegovinës, Millorad Dodik, për përfshirje në korrupsion dhe minimin e stabilitetit të Bosnjës dhe rajonit.

Zëvendësndimës Sekretari për Çështje Evropiane dhe Euroaziatike, njëherësh i dërguari i posaçëm për Ballkanin Perëndimor, Gabriel Escobar ka paralajmëruar se SHBA-ja do të sanksionojë edhe politikanë të tjerë në këtë rajon.

DASH-i tha se SHBA-ja është e përkushtuar për suksesin e mbarë rajonit të Ballkanit Perëndimor dhe integrimin e këtyre shteteve në BE, përfshirë edhe Kosovën “si shtet të pavarur, sovran dhe demokratik”.

"The United States is deeply committed to the success of the region and to the Deputy Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, the Special Envoy for the Western Balkans [Gabriel Escobar], together with the US Ambassadors to Pristina and Belgrade. "remain key US interlocutors on these issues," said a State Department spokesman. REL