James Rubin continued his testimony at The Hague, where he reflected on the dynamics and perceptions during the Rambouillet peace talks.
He particularly addressed the attitude of former U.S. diplomat Christopher Hill toward former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi.
“Hill was not friendly with Thaçi. I knew that Chris Hill would provide negative explanations about his behavior and would make negative comments about Thaçi to the American delegation, and possibly even to Senator Dole. Hill’s stance was not, ‘poor Mr. Thaçi, he is hiding,’ but rather, he said things like ‘why isn’t he here,’ ‘why is he acting like he’s so important,’” Rubin testified.
Rubin added that he was aware of Hill’s influence in the situation and often tried to counterbalance it:
“I would try to explain that there were reasons for his absence — maybe he stayed in the mountains, maybe he was at risk,” Rubin noted.
The remarks shed new light on the tensions within U.S. diplomacy during the Kosovo conflict negotiations and the complex relationship between American envoys and the Kosovo delegation.
