Hoxhaj: No one believes or takes Kurti seriously

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo, Enver Hoxhaj, says that no one takes Kosovo's Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, seriously and that nobody believes him. He also referred to Kosovo's Foreign Minister, Donika Gervalla, as "merely a figurehead."

Hoxhaj said for Klan Kosova that even the European Union had contradicted Kurti's claim that his proposal for the normalization of relations had been the only one on the table during the latest round of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina on September 14.

"They don't take Kosovo's Prime Minister seriously. Nobody believes him because he claimed that during negotiations on September 14, only he presented a concrete proposal in Brussels, while the EU submitted an old plan, which was Serbia's old demand. The Union contradicted him on September 15," Hoxhaj pointed out.

He also mentioned that the dialogue was not an obstacle to Kosovo gaining recognition.

"The dialogue on the normalization of relations began in 2011 and was not an obstacle to us gaining recognition from 2012 onwards. In fact, the dialogue served the idea of consolidating Kosovo, but today, foreign policy has been reduced to dialogue. Politics has been replaced by dialogue, and dialogue has been replaced by managing the crisis in the north," Hoxhaj argued.

Hoxhaj also referred to Minister Donika Gervalla, stating that she was "only a figurehead at international meetings."

"Today, there is no foreign policy for Kosovo. There is a Minister of Foreign Affairs who is just a figurehead," Hoxhaj assessed.

He also noted that, due to sanctions against Kosovo, nobody expected to see Kurti or Gervalla in any major capitals.

"Even Kurti clearly stated last week that punitive measures – sanctions – have a financial impact. However, sanctions also have a political impact, especially in foreign policy, because today, nobody expects to see Kurti and Gervalla in any capital," Hoxhaj said.