The US Department of State (Dash) said that it is disappointed that the Kosovo Police took action in the financial offices in the north of Kosovo on May 20, where six units of the “Postal Savings Bank” of Serbia were closed.
DASH said that “this action was not coordinated with international partners” and that it “escalates tensions”.
“It (the action) undermines the perception that Kosovo is acting in good faith to resolve the issues between it and Serbia through the Dialogue facilitated by the EU,” said the spokesperson of the State Department for the Voice of America.
The spokesperson points out that “the United States government has repeatedly requested coordination between our governments” 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 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 way to resolve the issues related to the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia and respond to the needs base of all its citizens — including those of the Serbian minority — adversely affected by recent changes in currency regulation.”
The Kosovo Police said that the operation to close the units of this bank was carried out in cooperation with the Central Bank of Kosovo and the Tax Administration of Kosovo and that the aim was to “establish order and legality”, calling the Postal Savings Bank in the North of the country, illegal”.
The police said that they confiscated “around one million and 600 thousand euros, 74 million and 700 thousand dinars, 19 thousand and 500 francs, 13 thousand and 800 American dollars, 40 Australian dollars as well as other documents and evidence”.Monday’s operation took place nearly four months after the Central Bank of Kosovo’s regulation came into effect, according to which the euro is the only currency that can be used for cash payments in Kosovo.Kosovo and Serbia had agreed to talk in Brussels with the facilitation of the European Union to find a solution to the issue of payments, but without success even after seven meetings.
