Pristina: The leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Ramush Haradinaj stated that there should be talks between Pristina and Belgrade on topics “of common interest for both sides” but the talks should be without mediators.

In an interview on Monday, former prime minister of Kosovo, Haradinaj said, “The UNMIK chief administrator should have no role in the talks.”

He added, “Kosovo is an independent country which can identify topics for talks with Belgrade by itself and, if necessary, select mediators for the talks.”

The former guerrilla leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) criticized the current ethnic Albanian leadership in Pristina by saying that “so far it has not been successful in the foreign policy and as a consequence lost an opportunity for Kosovo to become a member of the UN”.

Haradinaj blamed Hashim Thaci for the stalemate in the process of Kosovo’s recognitions. He also commented the situation in the northern, Serb-dominated part of Kosovo by saying it has “degraded” since February, but added that there are “many possibilities to find a desired solution to that”.

In early April this year, the Hague Tribunal cleared Haradinaj of all charges for which he stood trial, that included murder, kidnapping, rape, persecution, destruction of property and cruel treatment of the province’s Serbs, Romas and Albanians, in 1998.