Statement of the U.S. Embassy Pristina, 20 November 2018
The Kosovo Police is a fully integrated and capable institution, with a demonstrated record of helping dismantle international terrorist, cybercriminal, narcotics, arms, and human smuggling networks. A majority of countries saw this and supported Kosovo’s application to join INTERPOL, in the face of a campaign, led by Serbia, to pressure countries to oppose Kosovo’s bid. Support for Kosovo’s INTERPOL membership was never about recognition of Kosovo’s independence, but about strengthening global law enforcement cooperation and closing a critical security gap in the Balkans. With this outcome, we all lose.
We continue to strongly support the EU-facilitated Dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. Now more than ever, both parties should accelerate their efforts to reach agreement on full normalization, which is the only way for both countries to advance on their EU accession paths. Both Serbia and Kosovo need to realize that their paths toward their European future lie through normalization. To that end, we urge them to avoid provocations and work together on a deal.
