Kosovo's prime minister, Ramush Haradinaj, has announced his resignation after his designation as a suspect by The Hague-based arm of Kosovo's judicial system that pursues serious crimes committed during and immediately after the 1998-99 Kosovo War.

"I am resigning from the position of the prime minister of the Republic of Kosovo. I want to thank you for your trust and support. The reason has to do with the invitation I have received from the Specialist Chambers in The Hague, as a suspect," Haradinaj said during a government meeting in Pristina.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office, which was established under the constitution to try people suspected of serious violations of international law, allows prosecutors to relocate proceedings outside Kosovo.

This marks the second time Haradinaj has stepped down from the prime minister's seat as a result of accusations from The Hague.

His first resignation came in 2005, after the UN's International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) indicted him for alleged war crimes in connection with his wartime role as a top commander in the Kosovo Liberation Army (UCK). </s> PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo's prime minister has resigned after being invited for questioning by a Hague-based court investigating crimes against ethnic Serbs during and after the country's 1998-99 war.

Ramush Haradinaj said on Friday he had agreed to be interviewed at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers next week and didn't want to do it as prime minister.

He said he had informed the Cabinet he was stepping down and urged the president to call an early parliamentary election.

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers was set up after a 2011 report by the Council of Europe catalogued allegations of widespread war crimes committed by ethnic Albanian members of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

The court started questioning some former Kosovo fighters this year. Haradinaj was one of the top KLA commanders during the war. </s> FILE – In this Friday, Dec. 3, 2004 file photo, Ramush Haradinaj, right, former rebel commander elected Kosovo’s Prime Minister, listens during the inaugural session of Kosovo’s parliament in Kosovo’s capital Pristina. Kosovo’s prime minister has resigned from the post after he has been invited to be questioned from a European Union-funded court investigating crimes against ethnic Serbs during and after the 1998-99 independence war with Serbia. Haradinaj said on Friday, July 19, 2019 he had informed the Cabinet of his resignation and urged the country’s president to set a date for an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo / Visar Kryeziu)

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s prime minister resigned Friday after being invited for questioning by a Hague-based court investigating crimes against ethnic Serbs during and after the country’s 1998-99 war.

Ramush Haradinaj said he had agreed to be interviewed at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office next week and didn’t want to appear there as prime minister.

“I considered that I cannot go to the questioning as head of the government,” Haradinaj said during a news conference.

Haradinaj, who took office as prime minister in September 2017, said that while he thought the summons was politically bad for Kosovo, “I will respect the legal request. I will go there. I will defend myself as a fighter of my country.”

Haradinaj urged Kosovo’s president to call an early parliamentary election and said he would be a candidate so he could return as prime minister “because I am not accused.”

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office were established at the European Union’s urging after the Council of Europe, a human rights body, in 2011 reported allegations of widespread war crimes committed by the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army.

The court, which is part of the Kosovo judicial system despite being based in the Netherlands, started questioning former Kosovo fighters this year. Haradinaj was one of the top KLA commanders during the war.

He has been prosecuted for alleged war crimes and acquitted twice before. A United Nations tribunal first cleared him of war crimes and crimes against humanity charges in 2008.

The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia concluded in 2010 that witnesses had been intimidated and sent the case back for a partial retrial. Haradinaj and two other former KLA commanders were acquitted in November 2012.

A French court refused to extradite him to Serbia to face war crimes charges there, expressing concern he would not get a fair trial.

At the time of the war, Kosovo was a Serbian province and KLA members mostly were ethnic Albanians. A bloody Serb crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists and civilians led NATO to intervene by bombing Serbia in spring 1999.

Kosovo eventually made a unilateral declaration of independence in 2008 and it is recognized as a nation by the U.S. and most of the West, but not by Serbia and allies Russia and China.

A European Union-facilitated dialogue to normalize ties between Kosovo and Serbia stalled last year after Haradinaj won approval for a 100% tax on imported Serb goods until Belgrade recognizes Pristina.

Haradinaj resisted entreaties from the United States and the EU to lift or suspend the tax.

“Kosovo is having an unfair pressure for the price of Serbia’s recognition,” he said Friday.

His resignation does not mean the tax will be lifted soon. Holding an election and forming a new government has taken at least three months in previous years.

This story has been corrected to show a U.N. tribunal acquitted Haradinaj twice, not three times. </s> FILE – In this Friday, Dec. 3, 2004 file photo, Ramush Haradinaj, right, former rebel commander elected Kosovo’s Prime Minister, listens during the inaugural session of Kosovo’s parliament in Kosovo’s capital Pristina. Kosovo’s prime minister has resigned from the post after he has been invited to be questioned from a European Union-funded court investigating crimes against ethnic Serbs during and after the 1998-99 independence war with Serbia. Haradinaj said on Friday, July 19, 2019 he had informed the Cabinet of his resignation and urged the country’s president to set a date for an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo / Visar Kryeziu)

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s prime minister resigned Friday after being invited for questioning by a Hague-based court investigating crimes against ethnic Serbs during and after the country’s 1998-99 war.

Ramush Haradinaj said he agreed to be interviewed at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers next week and didn’t want to appear there as prime minister. However, he said he and his Cabinet would continue running the country until a new prime minister is chosen.

“I considered that I cannot go to the questioning as head of the government,” Haradinaj said at a news conference.

Haradinaj urged Kosovar President Hashim Thaci to call an early parliamentary election and said he would be a candidate in hopes of regaining office. He said the special court summoned him as a suspect but also told reporters he wanted to run for reelection “because I am not accused.”

Kosovar President Hashim Thaci wrote on his Facebook page that he would take the necessary steps to install a new government.

Haradinaj’s government held together Cabinet was held with a delicate balance in the 120-seat parliament with some votes from the ethnic Serb minority parties too.

Haradinaj, who became prime minister in September 2017, said that while he thought the summons was politically bad for Kosovo, “I will respect the legal request. I will go there. I will defend myself as a fighter of my country.”

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and a separate Specialist Prosecutor’s Office were established in 2015 based on war crimes allegations against the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army catalogued by the Council of Europe, a human rights body.

A 2011 council report reported allegations that included the trafficking of human organs from prisoners and killings of Serbs and KLA members’ fellow ethnic Albanians.

The court, which is part of the Kosovo judicial system despite being based in the Netherlands, started questioning former Kosovo fighters this year. Haradinaj was one of the top KLA commanders during the war.

He has been prosecuted for alleged war crimes and acquitted twice before. A United Nations tribunal first cleared him of war crimes and crimes against humanity charges in 2008.

The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia concluded in 2010 that witnesses had been intimidated and sent the case back for a partial retrial. Haradinaj and two other former KLA commanders were acquitted in November 2012.

A French court refused to extradite him to Serbia to face war crimes charges there, expressing concern he would not get a fair trial.

At the time of the war, Kosovo was a Serbian province and KLA members mostly were ethnic Albanians. A bloody Serb crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists and civilians led NATO to intervene by bombing Serbia in spring 1999.

Thaci said Friday that one of his advisers, Bislim Zyrapi, and other former top KLA commanders also were to be questioned at the Hague.

“I believe in the purity of the KLA war and the high moral values of the freedom fighters,” he said.

Kosovo eventually made a unilateral declaration of independence in 2008 and it is recognized as a nation by the U.S. and most of the West, but not by Serbia and allies Russia and China.

A European Union-facilitated dialogue to normalize ties between Kosovo and Serbia stalled last year after Haradinaj won approval for a 100% tax on imported Serb goods until Belgrade recognizes Pristina.

Haradinaj resisted entreaties from the United States and the EU to lift or suspend the tax.

“Kosovo is having an unfair pressure for the price of Serbia’s recognition,” he said Friday.

His resignation does not mean the tax will be lifted soon. Holding an election and forming a new government has taken at least three months in previous years.

This story has been corrected to show a U.N. tribunal acquitted Haradinaj twice, not three times. </s> PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo's prime minister resigned Friday after being invited for questioning by a Hague-based court investigating crimes against ethnic Serbs during and after the country's 1998-99 war.

Ramush Haradinaj said he had agreed to be interviewed at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office next week and didn't want to appear there as prime minister.

"I considered that I cannot go to the questioning as head of the government," Haradinaj said during a news conference.

Haradinaj, who took office as prime minister in September 2017, said that while he thought the summons was politically bad for Kosovo, "I will respect the legal request. I will go there. I will defend myself as a fighter of my country."

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office were established at the European Union's urging after human rights body the Council of Europe in 2011 catalogued allegations of widespread war crimes committed by the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army.

The court started questioning former Kosovo fighters this year. Haradinaj was one of the top KLA commanders during the war. A United Nations tribunal cleared him three times of war crimes charges.

At the time of the war, Kosovo was a Serbian province and KLA members mostly were ethnic Albanians. A bloody Serb crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists and civilians led NATO to intervene by bombing Serbia in spring 1999.

Kosovo eventually made a unilateral declaration of independence in 2008 and it is recognized by the U.S. and most of the West, but not by Serbia and its allies Russia and China. </s> ‘‘I considered that I cannot go to the questioning as head of the government,’’ Haradinaj said at a news conference.

Ramush Haradinaj said he agreed to be interviewed at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers next week and didn’t want to appear there as prime minister. However, he said he and his Cabinet would continue running the country until a new prime minister is chosen.

PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo’s prime minister resigned Friday after being invited for questioning by a Hague-based court investigating crimes against ethnic Serbs during and after the country’s 1998-99 war.

Haradinaj urged Kosovar President Hashim Thaci to call an early parliamentary election and said he would be a candidate in hopes of regaining office. He said the special court summoned him as a suspect but also told reporters he wanted to run for reelection ‘‘because I am not accused.’’

Thaci wrote on his Facebook page that he would take the necessary steps to install a new government.

Haradinaj, who became prime minister in September 2017, said that while he thought the summons was politically bad for Kosovo, ‘‘I will respect the legal request. I will go there. I will defend myself as a fighter of my country.’’

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and a separate Specialist Prosecutor’s Office were established in 2015 based on war crimes allegations against the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army catalogued by the Council of Europe, a human rights body.

A 2011 council report described allegations that included the trafficking of human organs from prisoners and killings of Serbs and KLA members’ fellow ethnic Albanians.

The court, which is part of the Kosovo judicial system despite being based in the Netherlands, started questioning former Kosovo fighters this year. Haradinaj was one of the top KLA commanders during the war. </s> FILE – In this Friday, Dec. 3, 2004 file photo, Ramush Haradinaj, right, former rebel commander elected Kosovo’s Prime Minister, listens during the inaugural session of Kosovo’s parliament in Kosovo’s capital Pristina. Kosovo’s prime minister has resigned from the post after he has been invited to be questioned from a European Union-funded court investigating crimes against ethnic Serbs during and after the 1998-99 independence war with Serbia. Haradinaj said on Friday, July 19, 2019 he had informed the Cabinet of his resignation and urged the country’s president to set a date for an early parliamentary election. (AP Photo / Visar Kryeziu)

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — Kosovo’s prime minister resigned Friday after being invited for questioning by a Hague-based court investigating crimes against ethnic Serbs during and after the country’s 1998-99 war.

Ramush Haradinaj said he had agreed to be interviewed at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor’s Office next week and didn’t want to appear there as prime minister.

“I considered that I cannot go to the questioning as head of the government,” Haradinaj said during a news conference.

Haradinaj, who took office as prime minister in September 2017, said that while he thought the summons was politically bad for Kosovo, “I will respect the legal request. I will go there. I will defend myself as a fighter of my country.”

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office were established at the European Union’s urging after human rights body the Council of Europe in 2011 catalogued allegations of widespread war crimes committed by the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army.

The court started questioning former Kosovo fighters this year. Haradinaj was one of the top KLA commanders during the war. A United Nations tribunal cleared him three times of war crimes charges.

At the time of the war, Kosovo was a Serbian province and KLA members mostly were ethnic Albanians. A bloody Serb crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists and civilians led NATO to intervene by bombing Serbia in spring 1999.

Kosovo eventually made a unilateral declaration of independence in 2008 and it is recognized by the U.S. and most of the West, but not by Serbia and its allies Russia and China. </s> PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo's prime minister resigned Friday after being invited for questioning by a Hague-based court investigating crimes against ethnic Serbs during and after the country's 1998-99 war. 

 

 Ramush Haradinaj said he had agreed to be interviewed at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office next week and didn't want to appear there as prime minister. 

 

 ``I considered that I cannot go to the questioning as head of the government,'' Haradinaj said during a news conference. 

 

 Haradinaj, who took office as prime minister in September 2017, said that while he thought the summons was politically bad for Kosovo, ``I will respect the legal request. I will go there. I will defend myself as a fighter of my country.'' 

 

 Haradinaj urged Kosovo's president to call an early parliamentary election and said he would be a candidate so he could return as prime minister ``because I am not accused.'' 

 

 The Kosovo Specialist Chambers and the Specialist Prosecutor's Office were established at the European Union's urging after the Council of Europe, a human rights body, in 2011 reported allegations of widespread war crimes committed by the separatist Kosovo Liberation Army. 

 

 The court, which is part of the Kosovo judicial system despite being based in the Netherlands, started questioning former Kosovo fighters this year. Haradinaj was one of the top KLA commanders during the war.

He has been prosecuted for alleged war crimes and acquitted twice before. A U.N. tribunal first cleared him of war crimes and crimes against humanity charges in 2008. 

 

 The appeals chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia concluded in 2010 that witnesses had been intimidated and sent the case back for a partial retrial. Haradinaj and two other former KLA commanders were acquitted in November 2012. 

 

 A French court refused to extradite him to Serbia to face war crimes charges there, expressing concern he would not get a fair trial. 

 

 At the time of the war, Kosovo was a Serbian province and KLA members mostly were ethnic Albanians. A bloody Serb crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists and civilians led NATO to intervene by bombing Serbia in spring 1999. 

 

 Kosovo eventually made a unilateral declaration of independence in 2008 and it is recognized as a nation by the U.S. and most of the West, but not by Serbia and allies Russia and China. 

 

 A European Union-facilitated dialogue to normalize ties between Kosovo and Serbia stalled last year after Haradinaj won approval for a 100% tax on imported Serb goods until Belgrade recognizes Pristina. 

 

 Haradinaj resisted entreaties from the United States and the EU to lift or suspend the tax. 

 

 ``Kosovo is having an unfair pressure for the price of Serbia's recognition,'' he said Friday. 

 

 His resignation does not mean the tax will be lifted soon. Holding an election and forming a new government has taken at least three months in previous years. </s> An EU-backed war crimes court called on Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj to show up for questioning in the Hague, causing Haradinaj to unexpectedly resign on Friday.

Before going into politics, Haradinaj was one of the top commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), a guerrilla formation that fought Serbian forces during the 1998/1999 conflict.

"I received a call by the special court as a suspect and was given the option to go as the prime minister, or as an ordinary citizen of Kosovo," the 51-year-old politician told reporters in Pristina on Friday.

"I chose the latter," he added. The interview is set for next week.

Third trip to The Hague

Previously, Haradinaj was charged with war crimes at the now-defunct International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague. He was already forced to step down as prime minister in 2005 after a summon from the ICTY.

The UN court acquitted him in 2008, but that ruling was later declared invalid due to reports of witness intimidation. The court eventually upheld the verdict in 2012.

Even so, he was detained in Slovenia in 2015 and France in 2017 over a separate arrest warrant filed by Serbia for alleged war crimes.

Haradinaj is now to appear before the Kosovo Specialist Chamber, an EU-backed body set up in 2015 and also based in The Hague. The Chamber is ruled by Kosovo law, but funded by the EU and staffed by international judges and prosecutors.

Both Haradinaj and the current president, Hashim Thaci (left), were high-ranking KLA commanders during the Kosovo war

Kosovo heading for election

At the Friday press conference, Haradinaj emphasized he was a suspect, but not facing charges.

He also said that he would run at the election which is now likely to be called by Kosovo President Hashim Thaci.

"Responsibility now goes to the president to start consultations to set the date of the election," Haradinaj said. "I will offer myself to the people again to get their trust."

The former militant leader has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing during the war. Earlier this year, however, he was criticized for appointing Sylejman Selimi, a convicted war criminal and another KLA commander, as his political advisor.

Following the news of Haradinaj's resignation, President Thaci said he respected the prime minister's decision and pledged to "act based on my constitutional and legal competences," adding that Kosovo citizens will be informed on time about his next move.

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Ramush Haradinaj, Prime Minister of Kosovo, resigns after receiving a summons from the Kosovo Specialist Prosecutor's Office as a war crimes suspect.