The U.S. will continue to cooperate with Kosovo Prime Minister Hasim Thaci regardless of the report by special rapporteur of the Council of Europe (CoE) Dick Marty linking him to a crime ring, State Department Speaker Philip Crowley has stated, adding that these claims will not change fundamentally the relations between the U.S. and Pristina.

“At this point, since any individual anywhere in the world is innocent until proven otherwise, he is the current prime minister, and we will continue to work with that government,” he stated at a press conference on Friday.

I do not believe that this is going to change fundamentally the U.S.-Kosovo relations given that they are based on mutual interests, not on specific personalities,” Crowley said.

He recalled that the State Department fully supports any investigation by a legitimate authority into the charges presented in the report.