Kosovo’s liberty is result of the old consensus, we need now to act to ensure support for Kosovo
I gave an interview for Kosovo’s Periskopi on US elections, our need to maintain the bipartisan support for Kosovo and our own mistakes in dealing with partners in United States
Z. Selimi, you have been following American politics and have also led the massive investment project of the American government via MCC, both during the time of President Trump and President Biden. How do you analyze the pre-election political situation in the USA now, especially after the shocking assassination attempt against former President Trump.
Firstly, let me tell you that Kosovo has been blessed with support from both Democrats and Republicans over the decades. It was Democratic Congressman Tom Lantos and Republican senator Bob Dole who were influential in their support for Kosovo in the early 90s. President Bush sr. drew the famous red line for Milosevic on Kosovo; President Clinton then bombed Serbia and helped liberate Kosovo also affirming the KLA as a liberation movement; President George W. Bush recognized our independence. President Obama helped in Kosovo’s worldwide recognition and the ICJ decision, while President Trump made Kosovo an equal party to Serbia in the White House agreement and brought recognition of Israel. I think the cardinal mistake of this government is to divide America into “good” and “bad” because Kosovo’s national interest is not to export our own polarization but to contribute strategically to bipartisan unity on Kosovo in Washington. Therefore, I see the American elections as an opportunity for helping Kosovo’s continued journey towards NATO membership and while whoever wins will have a different approach, perhaps even diametrically opposed within themselves, we must still work to ensure that this bipartisan support is continuous.
Do you think the Kurti Government has been biased in its approach towards American politics?
Not an issue of what I think, the facts speak themselves. PM Kurti has publicly accused former President Trump of coup and has caused almost complete alienation from the Republican Party. Now he has further eroded relations even with Democrats and key stakeholders in the administration, so much so that Democratic senators and ambassadors have publicly expressed doubts about whether Kurti is a partner of the USA. Diplomatic relations of the Kosovo Government with the US and the entire political spectrum in the USA are, in short, catastrophic. There is no other word but catastrophic — and very expensive for our national interest.
President Osmani often goes to Washington and has high-level meetings. Does the President balance these challenges that the Government faces in communicating with Americans?
The President does well to go to America, but the effect is in the realm of public relations and not a strategic communication that produces results. The executive branch is the branch of government that is engaged in dialogue with Serbia, in diplomacy, in regional cooperation. The President’s role is limited. We witnessed this during the fracas with the letter from Minister Gërvalla to the Council of Europe, where President Osmani stated she was not even informed by her own minister about major issues, let alone have any influence on the policy-making of the Kosovar Government.
America looks at actions, not words. If it comes to the second term of Trump, the focus will be especially on “deliverables” or what Kosovo is doing, not flowery speeches where we have filled America’s ear, but we have shown ourselves completely unable to coordinate and understand America’s urgent and supportive calls for action. Not to mention the completely absurd insults and accusations that the elements of the ruling regime and its online factory of commentators make against Blinken, Grenell, Hill, Escobar, or anyone who dares to express doubts about our Prime Minister.
So, is there a difference in Washington regarding Kosovo?
I said we should not make differences nor should we get involved in the internal American politics, but there are fundamental differences in foreign policy in Washington. These are natural because the world is changing rapidly, and there are political tectonic plate movements reshaping the global landscape.
Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance may be the figure who best personifies in America the ideological changes from the new generation of politicians. I have been following his political engagement for several years in the framework of a new American right fighting the old consensus of the political establishment.
Kosovo is a result of this old consensus and we have been fortunate that when we were liberated and became independent, America had an appetite for intervention and state-building. This consensus no longer exists or is at least being renegotiated, with a large part of the American electorate seeking “America first”, or for America’s interests to be defined not by altruism or universal values, which some call globalist, but by the well-being of American tax-payers themselves. Values are important, but even if the Democrats win this mandate, considerations for these fundamental changes in the American and global landscape remain and await us.
The Kosovo Government has not been able to develop dialogue with such a new starting point. Some call this a transactional concept in politics, almost as an insult, so I think there’s reason to worry. The Kosovo Government is isolated from Washington, but also from Paris, Brussels, Berlin, and even two hours away in Tirana, we are not doing well. I’m afraid that Kosovo’s leadership is dividing the leaders everywhere in black and white, and good and evil are defined according to the moral compass of the unquestionable leader of Vetevendosje — without even entering the quality of his political morality. But the world is increasingly taking on shades of gray. And here comes total confusion where, for example, Vetevendosje publicly supports the radical left in France, even though the leader Melanchon of this far left calls Kosovo a fictitious state.
America is changing, perhaps fundamentally and long-term. We need to calibrate our decisions by preserving the alliance with whichever America is being recreated because Kosovo’s freedom and independence have no greater guarantee than America.
What should Kosovo do in this case?
The opposite of what it has done in these four years. We canceled the strategic project initiated by the Americans for gas transmission. We ignored advice in dialogue, accusing American diplomats as being pro-Serb. We failed to focus on our actions, spending huge amounts of time finger-pointing and engaging with Serbia. This was a trap from Serbia to maintain the status quo by provoking Kosovo, and we fell into this trap. Just look at the public statements and tweets from Senator Murphy, Secretary Blinken, Ambassadors Hill and Hocenir, or in the most explicit form those of former intelligence chief and Ambassador Richard Grenell, who may be the new Secretary of State. We messed it up. It’s time to start not only talking but also taking concrete actions to contribute to American interests, so we can preserve the interests of Kosovo and Albanians in general.
Original in Substack: https://petrits.substack.com/p/kosovos-liberty-is-result-of-the and in Albanian original post: https://www.periskopi.com/zgjedhjet-ne-shba-dhe-pasojat-per-kosoven-flet-per-periskopin-ish-ministri-i-jashtem-marredheniet-e-kesaj-qeverie-me-shba-te-shkurt-shqip-katastrofale/
