The US State Department expressed disappointment and criticized the authorities in Kosovo for closing six units of the "Postal Savings Bank" of Serbia in the north of the country. A spokesperson told VOA that this action was not coordinated with international partners and that it escalates tensions.
"It undermines the perception that Kosovo is acting with good will to resolve the issues between it and Serbia through the Dialogue facilitated by the EU," he said.
The spokesperson points out that the United States has constantly sought coordination between the governments of both countries in order to support Kosovo's progress on its Euro-Atlantic path, including recently "by Undersecretary of State Elizabeth Allen in her meeting with Prime Minister Kurti on May 19".
The State Department reiterated the concern of the United States regarding the measures of the Central Bank of Kosovo regarding the restrictions on the use of the Serbian dinar. "We call on the government of Kosovo to return to constructive engagement in the dialogue mediated by the EU as the right path for the resolution of issues related to the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia and to respond to the basic needs of all its citizens".
Postal Savings Bank is the institution that distributed Belgrade payments to Serbian citizens in Kosovo. The authorities in Pristina said that the bank was illegal and that with the operation to close its units, they intended to "establish order and legality". As it is known, in the operation, "1,600,000 euros, 74,700,000 dinars, 19,500 francs, 13,800 US dollars, 40 Australian dollars, as well as other documents and evidence" were confiscated.
Minister of Internal Affairs Xelal Sveçla wrote on social networks that "the rule of law and order, service to all citizens without any distinction will continue to be their goal".