The Albanian American Civil League (AACL) has called for Ambassador Grenell to be relieved from his duties as the special envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.
In a public declaration released today, they expressed their concern about the “dangerous situation in the Republic of Kosovo after the fall of the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
“The fall was the result of an unprecedented move orchestrated by a few members of Kosovo’s political elite dedicated to advancing their personal interests, in coordination with President Trump’s Special Envoy for Serbia-Kosovo Peace Negotiations, Ambassador Richard Grenell,” they wrote.
The AACL is an Albanian American lobby group in Washington that represents interests of the Albanian people in the U.S. and the Balkans.
The League stated that Grenell has “grossly mishandled the process by pursuing an easy and quick solution.”
Examples of his failures include facilitating meetings between Serbian President Aleksander Vucic and Kosovo President Hashim Thaci. Calling Vucic a “chauvinist with a deep hatred for the Albanian people” they noted how he was Slobodan Milosevic’s Minister of Information and the protege of Serbian ultranationalist Vojislav Seselj who was convicted of crimes against humanity in The Hague. They also noted his close ties with the Russian government.
Additionally, the League called attention to the allegations that negotiations took place behind closed doors to change the borders between Kosovo and Serbia in order to create “ethnically pure states” contrary to US and EU policy. It has been reported that Grenell was party to and involved in these meetings.
They also accuse Grenell of openly taking Serbia’s side by trying to accommodate their “destructive demands”. Noting that he did not pressure them to stop their derecognition campaign against Kosovo, or stop receiving weapons from Russia. They said that he has put “heavy-handed pressure on the victim, Kosovo, by threatening the freezing of the US Millenium Change Corporation’s economic development programmes, as well as withdrawing US troops.
They added: “Grenell has insisted that an agreement will be reached after Kosovo and Serbia resume dialogue, forgetting that everyone knows that an agreement between very bad actors—Vucic and Thaçi—was negotiated in the summer of 2018 in talks led by the then European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.”
Allowing border changes would embolden both Serbia and Russia and their hegemonic aspirations for domination in Southeast Europe and access to the Adriatic Sea.
Grenell is also accused of strong-arming the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) into separating from Vetevendosje (LVV) in order to bring down the coalition government led by the two most publicly supported politicians.
“The process of disrupting and destabilizing the democratically elected government is contrary to American values, against the will of the people of Kosovo, and against the strategic interests of the United States. It was also shameful because it has taken place at a time when Kosova, America, and the entire world are fighting to save lives as the coronavirus spreads.”
The letter also accuses Grenell of alienating key European allies in Kosovo-Serbia negotiations.
“The European Union is against any territorial exchange for very good reasons. The ensuing turmoil will have a lasting political impact on the Balkans and potentially lead to instability in Europe for decades to come. As Kurt Bassuener and Bodo Weber of the Berlin-based think tank Democratization Policy Council stated on April 2nd, a territorial exchange, meaning “partition of Kosovo,” signifies “an abrupt break from two decades of American policy in the Balkans, opening a transatlantic rift unseen in terms of European security since the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia.”
They believe that the Trump Administration’s approach to the conflict is “fundamentally wrong” and “destined to fail”. The League calls on President Donald Trump to relieve him of his duties as he has “lost the credibility of an unbiased mediator”. They have called for a “knowledgeable Balkan expert to be put in charge” so the conflict can be solved once and for all.
Progress can only be made when; “America and the European Union also support a final, comprehensive agreement to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia that begins with the recognition that Serbia has been blocking every proposed agreement since the “technical talks” between Belgrade and Pristina began in 2011.”
The letter closed by stating:
“We do not support any particular political party in Kosovo, Albania, or other Albanian lands. But we do support those politicians who work hard for national interests and the people they represent. The same applies to the US government: We support those political leaders who are hard-working, conscientious, and effective representatives of the people, and we reject those who are concerned only with their personal interests and the perpetuation of their power.”
