PRISTINA, May 18 (BV) – Kosovo’s acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti accused former president Vjosa Osmani of seeking power and having clear political ambitions, sharpening the tone of the campaign ahead of the June 7 snap parliamentary elections.
Speaking on KTV’s “Interaktiv,” Kurti said Osmani’s return to active politics was legitimate, but insisted his party would not support her for another presidential mandate.
“President Osmani has political ambitions. She wants power. That is completely legitimate in a democracy,” Kurti said. “That is why there is political competition.”
Kurti said Kosovo’s next president should come from outside the current political scene, arguing that the office should not be held by someone actively involved in daily party politics.
He also rejected Osmani’s recent claims about his meetings in Brussels with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and former EU envoy Miroslav Lajčak, saying he had never held a separate private meeting with Vučić and that officials were always present.
“There are always people around who take notes,” Kurti said, adding that he had repeatedly reported to opposition leaders about the EU-mediated dialogue with Serbia.
Kurti also criticized what he called an opposition strategy of invoking the United States to attack him politically. He rejected claims that Camp Bondsteel, the U.S. military base in Kosovo, owes rent, saying private land used by the base is already paid for.
“The opposition bloc has a completely wrong method of work — taking America and using it to hit Albin Kurti,” he said.
The acting prime minister said he expects the June 7 elections to be the last national vote in Kosovo this year, describing the snap election as unnecessary and costly.
He said the vote would cost more than 10 million euros and could put tens of millions more at risk because of delays in reforms and institutional decision-making.
Kosovo is heading to early elections after lawmakers failed to elect a new president. The June vote will be the country’s third national election since February last year.
Kurti said he had tried to reach agreement with opposition parties, including offering LDK leader Lumir Abdixhiku the post of deputy prime minister and four ministries, but said opposition parties rejected repeated proposals.
He also announced that if Vetëvendosje wins another mandate, his government plans to establish a gendarmerie force to fight crime, corruption and terrorism, especially in border areas.
“The gendarmerie is something between the police and the army,” Kurti said, comparing the planned force to Italy’s Carabinieri and France’s gendarmes.
On the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Kurti said there would be no high-level meeting with Vučić unless Milan Radoičić is handed over and Serbia withdraws a letter by former Prime Minister Ana Brnabić rejecting Kosovo’s territorial integrity.
He also repeated criticism of Kosovo’s prosecution system, saying the country needs a new chief prosecutor and not Blerim Isufaj.
Kurti said his party is aiming for 60 percent of the vote on June 7, arguing that the opposition “needs another defeat.”
“If 51.1 percent was not enough for them, maybe 60 percent will be,” he said.