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US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Gabriel Escobar said the violence was not a means of gaining control of a political party, as he condemned last weekend’s violence at the Democratic Party of Albania headquarters.
On January 8, the former president of Albania, Sali Berisha, organized a protest near the headquarters of the Democratic Party, in an attempt to take control of it. He was expelled from the party after the United States declared him a non grata because of his involvement in widespread corruption.
In an interview with VOA, Escobar, who is also the State Department envoy for the Western Balkans, warned that new sanctions are expected in the region in the future.
“I have said that I do not like to talk about sanctions in general, for many reasons, but mainly for the fact that this is not the way the United States engages in the region, especially with Albania. We have so many positive ways of engaging and we will continue to use them. “However, there will be other determinations in the region,” said Escobar.
He said that he hopes that scenes like the ones on January 8 will not happen anymore, where Sali Berisha’s supporters tried to force their way into the PD headquarters in Tirana.
“I think it is unfortunate that someone will use violence and not the ballot box in an attempt to take control of a political party. And we condemn this. We are united with our European partners in condemning [dhunës] and hope it does not happen again. “We also call on the authorities to prosecute any person involved in political violence,” said Escobar.
Meanwhile, when asked about the possibility of reaching an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, Escobar said that he hopes that there will be progress in the dialogue mediated by the European Union.
He said that the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia “is not just about the United States and Europe, but also about our colleagues in the region.”
Escobar said that during this year, the US will engage intensively with the parties involved in this process.
“We will engage intensively with both countries. Yes, we will show our support for dialogue with concrete steps. We will help, we will work with our European partners to realize whatever is decided in this dialogue, in this EU-led process. So, yes, we will be very engaged in the process, but not only in Serbia and Kosovo, but in the whole region and not only for political issues, but also economic issues. “We see many opportunities for economic development in the region, especially in Albania and Serbia, Kosovo and Montenegro, so we will continue to work in all directions,” he said.
The dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia started in 2011. This process aims to reach an agreement on the normalization of relations between the two countries. The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has said earlier that it is expected that an agreement will be reached during his term as Prime Minister and during the term of the American President, Joe Biden./REL/
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