Thaci Charges ‘Timed’ to Prevent Amnesty Deal in Washington

Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti on Thursday canceled an eagerly anticipated trip to Washington to meet Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic and resume stalled negotiations with Serbia over the future status of the former Serbian province whose independence Belgrade does not recognise.

Hoti canceled his trip after the Hague-based Specialist Prosecutor's Office filed a ten-count indictment with the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, KSC, accusing Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, Kosovo politician Kadri Veseli and others with a range of crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, enforced disappearance of persons, persecution, and torture during the Kosovo war.

"I have to return to my country to deal with the situation," Hoti announced on Twitter adding that he had "informed Ambassador [Richard] Grenell [US envoy to the Kosovo-Serbia talks] that I could not attend the June 27 meeting at the White House".

Kosovo leaders continued separate visits to Brussels. Hoti said that he had "proposed to Grenell that the meeting be postponed to another day". On Thursday, he attended a meeting with EU leaders, where he called visa liberalization for the country an urgent matter. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of EU Commission, tweeted that she would meet Hoti on Thursday and Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vucic, on Friday.

Vucic was on an official visit in Moscow on Thursday, and by the time of publication had not clarified whether he would now travel on to Brussels and then to Washington after the latest developments with Thaci.

On Wednesday, US envoy Grenell had tweeted: "We look forward to Saturday's discussions which will be led by President Vucic and Prime Minister Hoti", having declared that he respected Thaci's decision "not to...