Joksimovic: Clear “signal” from Washington that harsher reactions toward Pristina may follow

Director of the Center for Foreign Policy, Aleksandra Joksimovic, assessed that the way the leader of the Self-Determination Movement is conducting politics is unacceptable to Washington, and that the suspension of the planned strategic dialogue with Kosovo is the first concrete move by the US after a series of sharp warnings to Pristina and a “signal” that much harsher reactions may follow.

“Pristina has been receiving warnings for a long period of time, in the context of the policy it is pursuing primarily toward the Serbian community. Kurti is already under certain EU sanctions, which are, admittedly, very mild and often not enforced. But the US Embassy has also very often reacted strongly to some of his steps that have stripped the Serbian community of its rights. In that context, we can say that this is now the first very sharp move by the American administration, which clearly wants to show that this kind of policy pursued by Kurti could result in a harsher US reaction,” Joksimovic told Kosovo Online.

The US suspended the planned strategic dialogue with Kosovo late last week, and Joksimovic emphasized that this is the first concrete sanction by one of Pristina’s strongest partners and promoters.

“For the first time, we have something truly concrete on the table. The US is seen as Pristina’s strongest partner, which generally views America as part of the solution, in the way it wants to see it. Throughout this whole period, the US has been a promoter of independence, but on the other hand, it is evident that the way Kurti conducts politics is unacceptable to the US,” she stressed.

She recalled that the US was already instrumental in bringing down Kurti’s first government, and that presidential elections are scheduled in Kosovo next year.

“We will see how this will affect the ratings of individual parties, but dissatisfaction with the policies being carried out in Pristina certainly exists. At this moment, America is sending a clear signal that this must stop,” Joksimovic noted.

Asked how much the suspension of the strategic dialogue could affect the upcoming local elections on October 12, Joksimovic said that “the dynamics of local and parliamentary elections are not always the same.”

Still, she does not rule out that possibility, since “Kurti is losing US support.”

“At the local level, people often look at specific candidates, and it is difficult for me to predict in what way this policy might directly affect Self-Determination in October. But certainly, the fact that Kurti is losing US support could clearly reflect in the decline of his own and his party’s ratings,” Joksimovic said.

She believes that Albanian opposition parties will try to make “maximum” use of this “precise US signal.”

“They have been talking about this for quite some time, but until now there hasn’t been such a clear and precise signal that the US is truly opposed to the policies Kurti is implementing,” Joksimovic said with conviction.

She stressed that the US decision, aside from its “political” implications, inevitably also sends “economic signals.”

“Every policy always has an impact on the economy. In this context, it is quite certain that some American companies will be watching the further development of relations between Pristina and Washington with greater attention, and will make decisions on further development or investments accordingly,” Joksimovic emphasized.