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| Haxhim Thaci and officials of US Security Council |
The US Embassy in Pristina said on Thursday that two senior officials of the National Security Council, John Erath and Brad Berkley told to Kosovo institution leaders that the tariffs on products from Serbia and Bosnia should be suspended, as this tax hamper the progress and harm the partnership with the United States.
In an ambassador's announcement, the two officials who stayed in Belgrade, reinforced the President Donald Trump's message "to exploit this unique momentum ... and to refrain from actions that would make it more difficult to reach the agreement ".Both countries stressed the concern of the White House that the "dialogue should be turned on track and that both sides should stop provocative actions and take constructive steps to return to the negotiating table," is said in the statement.
US officials reiterated their message based on the letter of February 11 - the "tariffs on the products of Serbia and Bosnia are a barrier to the progress, undermine our partnership and should be suspended so that the dialogue with Serbia moves forward". They stressed the urgency for the "Kosovo to reach a comprehensive agreement of normalisation with Serbia, and the US-Kosovo alignment for this common strategic interest," the communiqué states.
Both US officials stayed for two days in Kosovo and met leaders of political institutions and parties.
Earlier on Thursday, after meeting with Kosovo's state delegation for talks with Serbia and with Kosovo's president, Hashim Thaci, the latter's office through a communiqué, announced that were discussed the talks on the process of final talks between Kosovo and Serbia, the preparations of this process and the overcoming of current obstacles, including the United States advice on the temporary suspension of tariffs on Serbian goods.
"All members of the Negotiating Team have expressed concern about the aggressive actions of Belgrade, but at the same time expressed their readiness to respect the US advice on the suspension of tariffs and the resumption of dialogue in Brussels," is said in the announcement of the office of President Thaçi.
But Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj reiterated the position that the tariff is not an obstacle to talks with Serbia and that he tried to explain it to Wednesday's meeting with US officials.
"There are two ways to see the tax; one is to be seen as an obstacle to the dialogue, the other is to help reach the agreement faster, because time does not costs only to Kosovo but also to Serbia. So as long as the tariffs are in force, time costs also to Serbia, so these two effects exist, I believe," Prime Minister Haradinaj said.