Arifi: Kosovo’s diplomacy is dead, Serbia covered all key points at the UN General Assembly

Political analyst Avni Arifi sharply criticized Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani for her series of meetings during her visit to New York, stressing that she failed to hold any meaningful bilateral encounters with leaders of countries that could recognize Kosovo. He emphasized that Serbia, led by President Aleksandar Vucic, seized the opportunity and covered all the important points at the UN General Assembly, while Kosovo was left without any significant diplomatic presence.

“The President had very poor meetings; she did not have a single meeting with a country that is close to recognizing Kosovo, or that should recognize Kosovo. I saw the image of her encounter with Rubio at a cocktail reception—at such an event you can always go, exchange a few words, take a photo, but that was not a bilateral meeting. The acting Prime Minister did not participate, nor did the acting Foreign Minister. Kosovo’s diplomacy has been dead since Ms. Gërvalla arrived,” he stated.

Arifi added that the President of Serbia held comprehensive meetings with U.S. officials.

“Serbia covered the ground there. Vucic delivered a speech, while Serbian diplomats lobbied at various meetings that Kosovo is ‘Kosovo and Metohija’ and that human rights are being violated there. Meanwhile, we had no diplomatic representation at all. Under normal circumstances, with a functioning government in Kosovo, all three—the Prime Minister, the Foreign Minister, and the President—should have been there two or three days earlier. They should have worked closely with the embassy to design an agenda focused on countries of interest to Kosovo and held a press conference, especially after Vucic’s speech, since we do not have the right to participate in the General Assembly and speak there. Through such a press conference, Serbia’s claims should have been exposed,” Arifi stressed.

He further criticized Prime Minister Kurti, saying his U.S. visit looked more like attending a diaspora ball than a serious diplomatic mission.

“Now Prime Minister Kurti has gone there, and I do not know why. I heard there is an Albanian ball. If he traveled all the way there after the General Assembly to attend a ball, that’s fine—for him. But if he went there for a meeting at the State Department, the Pentagon, or the White House with the President, as it should be, then I welcome it,” he remarked.

According to the political analyst, Kosovo is left without diplomacy and without a functioning Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Our ambassadors sit in their offices only to collect a salary because they have nothing to say, they have run out of messages. The reason they did not go is that no one wants to meet with them,” Arifi underlined.

As for Kosovo’s membership in the UN General Assembly, Arifi pointed out that full membership is hardly realistic because of the veto powers of Russia and China in the Security Council.

“This government cannot be blamed for Kosovo’s non-membership in the UN General Assembly, because Russia and China are members of the Security Council. They hold veto power, and it is unimaginable for us to join the UN,” Arifi concluded in his statement to RTV 21.