US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to visit Kosovo

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet with acting President Jakup Krasniqi, Prime Minister Hashim Thaci and Foreign Minister Skender Hyseni. The secretary will visit Gracanica, a Serb-majority municipality near Pristina, where she will speak with municipal leaders in the Kosovo Serb community.

In a previous statement, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs Phillip Gordon said that the secretary is going to Gracanica to meet with the Serb community as “a sign of our engagement with all communities in Kosovo.”

He added that US has been absolutely clear from the start that it strongly supports Kosovo’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, “but we have also encouraged Kosovo to make sure that all ethnic groups are appropriately represented,” Gordon said.

The secretary of state arrives at a significant moment in Kosovo. The country’s president resigned at the end of September, and the state is drawing up plans to hold early elections, expected to be held at the beginning of next year. In addition, Pristina hopes to start talks with Belgrade before long.