Grenell on Kurti: He is not trustworthy, don't be fooled
US President Donald Trump's envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, said that "Kurti's [Kosovo Prime Minister] rhetoric claiming to be close to the US is completely false."
"Don't be fooled," Grenell wrote on X - formerly known as Twitter.
“The international community is united against Kurti. American companies are expanding in Albania and Serbia, but not in Kosovo because of Kurti. Kurti has also been against every US idea that has been offered by Presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden and Trump. The rhetoric that Kurti is using now, claiming that he is close to the US and better than all other Kosovo governments, is completely false. Do not be fooled,” he wrote.
Grenell, among other things, said that the Trump administration has worked and will continue to work for peace for all in the Balkans.
"But we need reliable partners. Kurti's government was not reliable during Trump's first term, nor during Biden's term. Both Republicans and Democrats have repeatedly criticized Kurti for unilateral actions that destabilize the region. The EU and NATO have also done this," he said.
https://kosovapress.com/kurti-mendoj-se-ka-ardhur-koha-qe-spanja-te-njohe-pavaresine-e-vendit-tone
The country's Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, has on several occasions stated that relations with the US "are strong."
Kurti also spoke about these reports at an electoral rally in Ferizaj, on February 2.
"Kosovo-America cooperation with us has not only been with the State Department diplomatically, but also with the Department of Defense and in development and energy cooperation. The largest grant from the United States of America was received by our government," Kurti said.
"Never have the governments of liberated Kosovo had better relations with the United States of America than our government, and never has the state of Kosovo benefited from cooperation with the United States of America as it has during our government's four-year mandate. And the former rulers, the previous governments, used relations with the US and the West for power, for their chairs, to climb a little higher and to stay a little longer, we use them for the state and not for power, to climb the state higher and higher," he said.
In the previous Trump administration, 2017-2020, Richard Grenell was the US envoy for the Western Balkans region.
Grenell had been critical of Kurti even then and accused him of opposing American policies that he said were suggested by former presidents.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Kosovo said at the time that Grenell influenced the overthrow of the Kurti 1 government in 2020.
