Prime Minister Albin Kurti of Kosovo has implied that impeachment procedures against President Hashim Thaçi could begin soon.
Kurti argued Thaçi has committed a serious violation of the Constitution by signing a “secret agreement” with NATO back in 2013 when he was Prime Minister and not making it public to date.
In a letter sent to Speaker of Parliament Vjosa Osmani, Kurti wrote:
“Prime Minister Thaçi, on behalf of the Republic of Kosovo, transferred to [NATO mission] KFOR the absolute veto power over all future KSF [Kosovo Security Force] missions in the north of Kosovo for an unforeseeable period.”
Kurti’s office published a 2013 letter written by Thaçi, in which he assures the then Secretary-General of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen that “the Kosovo Security Force would only undertake a mission in Northern Kosovo with prior concurrence with KFOR”.
The date of the letter coincides with the Brussels Agreement on the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, signed by the respective prime ministers at that time Hashim Thaçi and Ivica Dacic.
“In view of the available evidence with the Office of the Prime Minister, as well as the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, there is sufficient ground to conclude prima facie that during his time as Prime Minister, President Thaçi committed serious violations of the Constitution, and that these violations justify the launching of the constitutional procedure for his dismissal from the position of the President of the Republic of Kosovo,” Kurti argued in a separate opinion presented to the Speaker of Parliament.
Kurti informed Osmani that he was presented with information regarding the said agreement by a NATO official, a few weeks before he became prime minister, but that he hasn’t had a chance to discuss it with President Thaçi yet. Kurti added that he has asked his staff to analyze the “secret agreement” and reveal implications or possible violations vis a vis the country’s constitution.
He also stressed that as Prime Minister of Kosovo he was not taking “any position for or against the secret agreement”.
“I deeply understand and appreciate the extraordinary importance of the cooperation between the Republic of Kosovo and NATO in ensuring the full territorial integrity of the Republic and its citizens,” Kurti added.
Kurti assured the Assembly and the public that he would not take any steps that would endanger the Kosovo alliance with NATO.
