Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. After Kosovo President War Crimes Indictment, Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue Uncertain Keida Kostreci WASHINGTON - This weekend the White House had hoped to host high-profile talks betweenleaders ofKosovo and Serbia, butthe indictment of Kosovo's presidenton war crimes chargesforced officials to suspend the talks indefinitely, putting future negotiations in limbo. On Wednesday, aHague-basedspecial prosecutor indicted Kosovo President HashimThaciand nine otherson charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Kosovo's war for independence. In dramatic fashion, Thaci, who was already en route to the United States, turned back home. He has not commented on the indictment. One day later, Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti informed Richard Grenell, White House special envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia talks, that he would not travel to Washington. "Due to the new developments inPristinaas a result of the indictment submitted by the Specialized Prosecutor's Office, I have to return to my country to deal with the situation. I informed AmbassadorGrenellthat I could not attend the June 27 meeting at the White House," he wrote on Twitter. Due to the new developments in Prishtina as a result of the indictment submitted by the Specialized Prosecutor's Office, I have to return to my country to deal with the situation. I informed Ambassador Grenell that I could not attend the June 27 meeting at the White House. -- Avdullah Hoti (@Avdullah) [1]June 25, 2020 Grenell, who hadbeen helping set up the talks,said he understood. Thank you, Prime Minister Hoti. We understand your decision and we look forward to re-scheduling the meeting soon. [2]https://t.co/BNOygifIyY -- Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) [3]June 25, 2020 Analysts said thatalthoughthe timing of the indictment was surprising, it was not coincidental. Florian Bieber of the University of Graz in Austria said it appeared to be linked to the White House meeting. "The Prosecutor's office appears to have been worried that that visit or some other activities surrounding that visit, might have been putting a question mark over the ability to effectively indict presidentThaciover the crimes he has been accused of," he told VOA Albanian. Biebersaid he did notthink the Special Prosecutor -- an American -- made the decisionto indictin coordination with Washington,in part because the Trump administration has been supportiveofThaci'soutreach to Serbia. Now,it's unclearwhen thetalksmight resume. But DanielSerwerof Johns Hopkins University saidthe special prosecutorwould certainly want to give the administration a heads-up in advance of a dramatic move of this sort. "Prosecutors don't usually announce indictments before they are confirmed (by a court). This is unusual." In the announcement,the special prosecutor's office said "theIndictment is only an accusation. It is the result of a lengthy investigation and reflects the SPO's determination that it can proveall ofthe charges beyond a reasonable doubt. A KSC Pre-Trial Judge is currently reviewing theindictment to decide on whether to confirm the charges." The White House has not commented, except for two tweets by Grenell, saying he understood the decisions first by Thaci and then by Hoti to cancel the visit. A State Department spokesperson told VOA Albanian that"the United States believes the filing of the indictment announced by the independent Specialist Prosecutor's Office is a step forward in the justice and reconciliation process in the Western Balkans." Campaign to obstruct? The Special Prosecutor's Office said Thaci and the nine other suspects were "criminally responsible for nearly 100 murders" along with forced disappearances, torture and persecution of hundreds of others including Kosovo Albanians, Serbs and Roma." Former parliament speaker Kadri Veseli was also indicted. Prosecutors said they determined it was necessary to issue the public notice of charges because of repeated efforts by Thaci and Veseli "to obstruct and undermine the work" of the office. Serwer said Americans understand Thaci had been trying to prevent the indictment. Bieber said it had always been anticipated that the Specialist Chambers (as the office of the special prosecutor is called) would go after serious cases involving high-level officials. "Everybody suspected at least Hashim Thaci was a prime candidate to be indicted and that he is also one person who has a great interest in preventing this indictment," he said. The accusations stem from the time whenThaciwas a commander of the Kosovo LiberationArmy, or KLA, a guerrillamovementfighting for independence from Serbia. More than 10,000people-- mostly ethnic Albanians--died,and 1,641 are still unaccounted for. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo's independence that it declared in 2008 following a NATO campaign to stop ethnic cleansing from Serbia's forces in 1999. References 1. https://twitter.com/Avdullah/status/1276026765127946240?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw 2. https://t.co/BNOygifIyY 3. https://twitter.com/RichardGrenell/status/1276153078048268290?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw .