Grenell backs six LDK MPs, Mekuli accuses him of interference and mentions decoration from Vučić

Richard Grenell’s public support for the six LDK MPs who have announced that they will not vote for Bekim Sejdiu as president has triggered strong reactions in Kosovo.

Publicist Gëzim Mekuli strongly condemned the former US envoy’s involvement in Kosovo’s political developments in a Facebook post. Mekuli linked Grenell’s position to the decoration he received from Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, while raising questions about the impact of this intervention on the worsening institutional deadlock, reports “Bota sot”.

Full text

Grenell aligns himself with the blockade: Vučić’s honoree backs six LDK MPs!

Richard Grenell, the former US envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, has once again become involved in Kosovo’s political developments. This time, he has openly expressed his support for the six LDK MPs who have declared that they will not vote for presidential candidate Bekim Sejdiu.

In a post on X, Grenell published a photograph of Avdullah Hoti, Hykmete Bajrami, Arben Gashi, Armend Zemaj, Kujtim Shala and Janina Ymeri, describing them as “great friends of America”.

According to Mekuli, Grenell’s way of expressing himself raises an inevitable question: why is a former US envoy, decorated by Aleksandar Vučić, trying to determine who “America’s friends” are in Kosovo?

On October 25, 2023, Aleksandar Vučić honored Richard Grenell with the “Order of the Flag of Serbia” for his contribution to developing and strengthening peaceful relations between Serbia and the United States. During the ceremony, Vučić described Grenell as a “true friend of Serbia”.

Today, Mekuli continues, a person who holds a Serbian state decoration is supporting six “saboteur” MPs at a time when Kosovo is once again facing a political deadlock.

Dear readers, this should not be viewed merely as a statement by a former American politician. This is a special political operation that requires careful attention and analysis.

The question remains: Is the Albanian MP’s vote being used to overcome the institutional crisis, or to make it even deeper?

Kosovo needs functioning institutions, not more blockades supported by Serbia’s friends. It needs political responsibility, not calculations that leave the country hostage.

Richard Grenell’s public support for this blockade makes the decoration he received from Serbia’s president, Aleksandar Vučić, even more troubling.

Kosovo does not need political blessings from Belgrade, either directly or through individuals who have been decorated by Belgrade with the “Flag of Serbia”.