State Department: Lajcak invests tireless efforts in Kosovo-Serbia dialogue

The US State Department has commended the tireless efforts of the European Union's Special Representative, Miroslav Lajcak, in the Kosovo-Serbia negotiations. This comment followed in response to Voice of America's request for a reaction to the statements of Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti, in which he accused Lajcak of bias and views against Pristina, as reported by Voice of America.

Kurti stated that he had sent letters on this matter to the main Western countries, accusing Mr. Lajcak, among other things, of "distorting the process." In response to Voice of America, a spokesperson for the State Department neither confirmed nor denied whether the letter had reached Washington.

"We remain closely engaged with Kosovo, Serbia, and EU partners in the dialogue facilitated by the European Union. We appreciate and acknowledge the tireless efforts of the EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson expressed disappointment that there had been no progress at the September 14 meeting, adding that the dialogue facilitated by the EU was the only way forward for Kosovo and Serbia.

"We expect both countries to take their obligations under the normalization agreement they reached earlier this year seriously. Time is running out. We want to see progress on existing and prior commitments based on dialogue (with EU assistance) and the Ohrid Agreement, including the establishment of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities," he stated.

According to him, Washington is fully united with its Quint partners in supporting the dialogue process.

He added that the United States would consult both internally and with its European partners on the next steps.

During a press conference in Pristina, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused the European Union's Special Representative for Kosovo-Serbia negotiations, Miroslav Lajcak, of being biased during last week's meeting in Brussels. He stated that on September 14th, it had been clear that the mediator had been positioned against Kosovo in general, and particularly against the basic agreement.