Kosovo PM confirms: It was Grenell’s proposal to name Ujman Lake after President Trump

Gazeta Express

24/09/2020 22:35

Prime Minister, Avdullah Hoti, has confirmed that US special envoy on Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, Ambassador Richard Grenell, has proposed naming the Lake Ujman in northern Kosovo after US President Donald Trump.  

Hoti in a Facebook post said that he has welcomed the idea, as a sign of gratitude for his extraordinary role in reaching the historic agreement between Kosovo and Serbia on economic normalization, which as Hoti said, is an important step towards a final political deal on mutual recognition between the two countries.

“As a sing of honour for their decisive role for the freedom, independence and recognition of Kosovo’s statehood all over the world, we have named our best boulevards after names of the most distinguished US personalities, such as: President Clinton, George Bush, Senator Bob Dole, Secretary Madeleine Albright and others,” Hoti said adding that Kosovo and its citizens will be forever grateful to this special and eternal friendship.

“It is our tradition and culture to honour the Friend! This is a noble tradition of our ancestors that we will always honour” PM Hoti said.

On September 4 Kosovo and Serbia reached an agreement at the White House on economic normalization which was observed by the US President Trump himself. The agreement foresees among other things that both countries agree to work with the US on a feasibility study for the purpose of sharing the disputed Ujmani Lake, that Serbs refer to as Gazivoda.

The Ujman/Gazivoda Lake is mostly located in Kosovo’s northern territory but almost 20 percent of it is part of Serbia’s territory. This artificial lake was accumulated decades ago by the “Iber Lepenci” company, back when Kosovo was part of Yugoslavia. After the end of the war in 1999, there was a lot of tension caused about the lake as Kosovo considers it as its own property, while Serbia claims its ownership since part of it is in Serbia. /GazetaExpress/