Kosovo’s president, Hashim Thaci, pulled out of a meeting at the White House after he was indicted for war crimes by the Hague.
“The President of Kosovo has just informed us that he has canceled his trip to Washington, D.C. following the announcement made by the Special Prosecutors Office. I respect his decision not to attend the discussions until the legal issues of those allegations are settled,” Richard Grenell, the special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations, tweeted on Wednesday.
The President of Kosovo has just informed us that he has canceled his trip to Washington, D.C. following the announcement made by the Special Prosecutors Office.
I respect his decision not to attend the discussions until the legal issues of those allegations are settled.— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) June 24, 2020
Thaci had been scheduled to meet with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Saturday. The meeting will still be held between Vucic and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti. Trump is not expected to attend the Saturday summit, according to Grenell, the former U.S ambassador to Germany and ex-acting spy chief.
Thaci was charged with 10 counts of war crimes against humanity during the conflict in his country in the 1990s. The Hague has been investigating war crimes there since 2015. During the conflict, Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas fought against Serbia for control of the small territory. Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, although Serbia still doesn’t fully recognize its sovereignty.
“The indictment alleges that Hashim Thaci, Kadri Veseli and the other charged suspects are criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders,” the Kosovo Specialist Chambers said in a statement. The tribunal also accuses them of being complicit in torture and the enforced disappearance of persons.
The alleged crimes “involved hundreds of known victims of Kosovo Albanian, Serb, Roma, and other ethnicities and include political opponents,” the tribunal said. The tribunal itself was organized to investigate former Kosovo Liberation Army guerrillas for alleged atrocities during the conflict.
