Hovenier: The first sanction for Kosovo is the cancellation of joint military exercises, we are thinking about the next moves

The American ambassador in Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier, said that the cancellation of Kosovo's participation in the "Defender Europe 2023" exercise was the first consequence for the Government of Kosovo, which had rejected Washington's calls to de-escalate the situation in the north.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on May 26 that the actions of the Government of Kosovo in the northern municipalities would have consequences for bilateral relations.

"The first indication of that was the decision made last night by the American commander for Europe to cancel Kosovo's participation in Defender Europe 2023, which happened overnight," Hovenier said at a meeting with several journalists in Pristina.

For Kosovo, these exercises had been completed, Hovenier added.

"I have to say that at the moment the US does not have much enthusiasm to react to some interests of Kosovo, such as engaging with unrecognized countries or actively working to improve Kosovo on the Euro-Atlantic path. We are very sorry that the situation has come to this, but I have to be honest, that is the situation. We hope Prime Minister Kurti will listen to our advice and immediately take steps to reduce tensions in the north".

The US criticized the Government of Kosovo, saying that on May 26, the new Albanian mayors in the northern municipalities forcibly entered the municipal buildings in the north.

Hovenier said that the US was also thinking about other decisions it would make in that direction.

"We asked Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to immediately take steps to calm the situation in the north. He did not respond to these requests. That is why we are considering what our next actions will be," the American ambassador said.

American Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier said that the Government of Kosovo had not coordinated with Washington for the actions taken on Friday.

On that day, the new Albanian mayors of the municipalities in the north of Kosovo entered the municipal buildings with the help of the Kosovo police.

"When we found out, we reacted strongly against it. The decision had a negative impact on Kosovo's reputation and reversed efforts towards the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia," the American ambassador emphasized.

Hovenier quoted US Secretary of State Blinken when he said that the recent decisions of the Kosovo government affected the relations between the two countries.

"There was no activity for “Defender Europe 2023” today and there won't be any. For Kosovo, those exercises are over."