Osmani: Biden gave guarantees for continuous support for Kosovo

The President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, said on Thursday that the President of the United States, Joe Biden, has given strong guarantees for the continuous American support for Kosovo.

Osmani is staying in New York, where he participated in the official reception organized by President Biden on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

"In a warm conversation with President Biden, President Osmani emphasized that the foundation of Kosovo's freedom and citizenship is the permanent alliance with the USA," said a press release from the Presidency of Kosovo.

Osmani has repeated the position that the partnership with America is "existential, inviolable and irreplaceable".

She informed President Biden about the latest developments and the challenges that Kosovo is facing, according to the Presidency.

In New York, Osmani met on September 20 with the representative of the European Union for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Miroslav Lajcak, about the latest developments in this process, as well as with the American Secretary of State, Antony Bliken.

President Osmani's visit to the US comes about a week after Kosovo and Serbia failed to reach an agreement in the new round mediated by the European Union on September 14.

After the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, accused Lajcak of a unilateral approach, in accordance with the positions of Serbia, but the European bloc considered the accusations unfounded.

During the meeting with Lajcak, Osmani also mentioned the need for the removal of the EU's punitive measures against Kosovo, which, according to her, are having an impact on the citizens of Kosovo.

Lajcaku himself said on September 20 in a post on the social network X - formerly known as Twitter - that he has agreed with Osman to continue discussions on this topic.

The European bloc imposed punitive measures on Kosovo months ago, after the increase in tensions in the north of Kosovo.

In the northern municipalities with a Serbian majority, local residents have not accepted the new Albanian mayors, and the situation has sometimes escalated into violence.

Kosovo has been asked to work on escalation and to coordinate with the international facto for further steps. /REL