US suspends humanitarian aid to Kosovo

Text by: Laurent Rouy

American pressure has greatly increased on the government of Prime Minister Albin Kurti in Kosovo. For more than a year, Europeans and Americans have been asking Kosovo to lift the economic sanctions unilaterally imposed on Serbia, so the new Kosovar Prime Minister, favorable to the sanctions, refuses for the moment to comply.

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From our regional correspondent,

A US government agency, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, has suspended $ 49 million in development aid for Kosovo. Reason: Kosovar refusal to lift economic sanctions against Serbia. It is the first time that the United States, Kosovo's historic allies, has suspended aid to this very poor country.

A few hours earlier, Prime Minister Albin Kurti refused to lift the sanctions, he said because of disagreements from the government coalition. It was obviously the declaration of too many Washington, which tries by all means to relaunch the talks between Serbia and Kosovo.

Since the beginning of the week, the pressure has increased sharply on the Kosovar Prime Minister. Albin Kurti's coalition partner, the LDK, had threatened on March 10 to bring down the government if the sanctions were not lifted, while US Senator David Perdue demanded the withdrawal of American troops. For the moment, Albin Kurti refuses the return of Serbian products to stores in Kosovo. Not sure he could resist Washington's pressure for long.

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• Kosovo
• United States
• Humanitarian

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