U.S. Ambassador Repeats Request to Kosovo PM to Postpone Ban on Serbian Dinar in Kosovo

Jeffrey Hovenier (Photo: PrintScreen YouTube)

The U.S. ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, urged the Government of Kosovo on Feb. 5 to postpone a ban on the use of the Serbian dinar in Kosovo, explaining that a refusal to do so would affect relations between Serbia and Kosovo.

After a meeting between the ambassadors of the Big Five, the head of the EU Delegation to Kosovo and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Hovenier said that the U.S. "hopes the Kosovo government will be a partner," and that, if not, “the quality of the partnership will be affected.”

Hovenier, who has repeatedly urged the authorities in Kosovo to delay the implementation of the Central Bank’s decision to prohibit the dinar in Kosovo, reiterated that his country respected the Constitution of Kosovo but believed there should be a period during which the Kosovo citizens were informed about the new currency regulation.

He did not want to predict Kurti's reaction to the repeated U.S. request, stating only that he would "let them speak for themselves."

The amended Regulation on Cash Operations issued by the Central Bank of Kosovo, prescribing the euro as the sole means of payment in Kosovo, came into effect on Feb. 1,  after late in January the Kosovo PM  had rejected a proposal by the Big Five, namely, the United States, Great Britain France, Italy, and Germany, to postpone the implementation of the new regulation.