Gabriel Escobar held today the last press conference as the American special emissary for the Western Balkans. The Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia confirmed that at the end of the month he will leave his post, not as dismissed, but because his mandate has ended, thus responding to recent reports.
"Everything that is said in that article is a lie. I have not been dismissed from office and my wife does not receive money from any foreign country, wherever I have served, she has maintained direct contact with citizens without anything in return and will continue to do so. I also have no affiliation with a law firm in Texas. It is also incorrect that such information could have come from Congress, because it does not deal with that issue," said Gabriel Escobar, the US emissary for the Western Balkans.
Escobar expressed regret that during his mandate there was no progress in the implementation of the normalization agreement between Kosovo and Serbia and the formation of the association.
The American emissary also spoke about Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe, advising the leaders in Pristina to listen more to their European partners, especially regarding the association and some other issues related to minorities, which according to him have not been addressed.
"This is what is causing concern that Kosovo may not have the votes for the Council of Europe. Regarding European integration, I think it is important for Kosovo to listen to its European allies and work with European allies, as we strengthen Kosovo's candidacy in all Euro-Atlantic structures ," he said.
Escobar repeated that America does not have a vote in this organization, but the attitude remains the same, that Kosovo should be part of the European Union and NATO.