Former U.S. ambassador William Montgomery stated today that the main goal of the prime minister of the provisional Pristina institutions, Albin Kurti, is the ethnic cleansing of Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking to K1 television, he said that Kurti carries out various provocations and that he believes Kurti\u2019s aim is to anger Belgrade enough to take military action against Pristina. According to him, Kurti was hoping for the support of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne of the things I\u2019m dissatisfied with is that we failed to provide protection for Kosovo Serbs and allowed Kurti to ignore the promises made in Brussels \u2014 to establish the Community of Serb Municipalities, which was an important step. It was supposed to give Serbian municipalities closer ties with Belgrade. Kurti\u2019s government agreed to it but never implemented it,\u201d said Montgomery, who is in Belgrade promoting the book Undiplomatic Life<\/em>, written with his wife Lynn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to him, the U.S. could impose stricter measures against Kurti for his behavior \u2014 not just sanctions, but also the suspension of aid programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe supported UN membership. That could be taken away. I hope the U.S. will do that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added that he knew of a plan to resolve the situation when Hashim Tha\u00e7i was the leader and was considering the division of Kosovo and Metohija between Serbs and Albanians, but that the West \u2014 specifically, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel \u2014 blocked it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI would start from the fact that the situation in Kosovo and Metohija is not good, just like in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For thirty years we\u2019ve been complaining but doing nothing to change it. We must look for alternatives that would lead to long-term progress. More emphasis must be placed on ethnicity because the ethnic element drives everything in the region,\u201d said Montgomery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The former diplomat also assessed that the Dayton and Kumanovo agreements were flawed from the start and are the cause of today\u2019s problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInstead of changing them, we\u2019ve adhered to them like holy scripture. If you look at UN Security Council Resolution 1244, it recognizes the sovereignty of Yugoslavia and guarantees that in the future Serbia\u2019s security forces would be able to protect religious monuments in Kosovo and Metohija \u2014 which did not happen. These agreements are not functional and need to be changed; they are unsuccessful and require better solutions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He explained that it was a major mistake that Resolution 1244 was not implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe in the West, within NATO, decided to bomb Serbia. We didn\u2019t have UN support, yet we tried to show that we did. Honestly, we didn\u2019t respect the key provision on Yugoslavia\u2019s sovereignty. Many diplomats thought that Kosovo Albanians had suffered terribly and deserved a homeland, so we agreed to form a state for Kosovo Albanians,\u201d said Montgomery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked whether U.S. President Donald Trump could resolve the crisis, he stated that with the Trump administration there is an opportunity to make positive changes in the region, since Trump has shown that he is not afraid to break away from clich\u00e9s and refuses to do things the old way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWith the right approach, he can play a major role in the region. Trump still has 3.5 years in power, and it\u2019s early. I hope he will pay attention to the region,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He also noted that the sanctions situation is disastrous because Serbia is collateral damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a conflict between the U.S. and Russia. Sanctions were imposed on a company under Russian ownership \u2014 I\u2019m sorry about that. I\u2019ve always opposed sanctions because they are easy to impose but hard to lift. It\u2019s not a good solution. I wish Russian President Vladimir Putin would realize the difficult position your government is in and sell NIS to Serbia at some price. That would solve the problem. The biggest issue is majority ownership \u2014 if it became a minority stake, it would change the situation. Putin could fix it if he wanted to, but he seems unwilling to consider it,\u201d Montgomery said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Asked to comment on the withdrawal of Mark Brnovich\u2019s nomination for the post of U.S. ambassador to Serbia, the K1 guest said that in 60 countries no ambassador has even been nominated and that the importance of having ambassadors is not sufficiently emphasized in the current U.S. administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI believe he (Mark Brnovich) went through the usual medical and other screenings, but something came up. It\u2019s unusual for a nomination to be withdrawn like that. I think something from his biography or career surfaced. Trump doesn\u2019t listen to the deep state \u2014 this was decided by Trump\u2019s administration, and I\u2019m sure they will find someone who wishes Serbia well,\u201d said Montgomery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR: Sanctions against NIS are exclusively a political decision, we continue to support Belgrade!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n FSS ON THE INCIDENT BEFORE THE MATCH WITH ALBANIA: Albanian arrested due to OVK symbol, strict controls at the stadium!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n US EMBASSY SPOKE OUT: Sanctions against NIS are not directed against the Serbian people, but against Russia!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nMORE TOPICS:<\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n