This is Ambassador Delaway's full statement to the Special Court.

US Ambassador to Kosovo Greg Delaway at a media conference has said the Special Court is deeply important for the United States and that Kosovo cannot be a place where impunity is the norm.

The American ambassador in his statement to the media has said that this court is interested because their 1999 intervention was based on the idea that war crimes against everyone, everywhere, were an attack on international justice.

Read full the statement of the American ambassador to Kosovo concerning the Special Court:

First, on behalf of the US Embassy in Pristina, I want to express my deepest condolences to Mr. Ivanovic, whose murder yesterday is tragedy for Kosovo. I condemn this work in the most powerful way. No one should exploit this crime for political purposes.

I'm here today to talk about justice. I'm here to talk about victims. I am here to talk about Kosovo's commitment to justice and its future as a democratic and European country. This commitment is under serious threat from an initiative to break or amend the law authorising the Special Court. This effort presents a terrible example of the case when self-interest prevails over general good and over Kosovo's interests as a state. Let me be clear: MPs who support this initiative and politicians who are leading it, despite their denials, will undergo specific and harsh consequences if this initiative succeeds. They know that.

But, I want to talk to you, citizens of Kosovo, why the Special Court is important to Kosovo and why the United States will do everything in their power to ensure that the Court is able to complete its mandate.

So why did Kosovo create the Special Court? Kosovo has done this to do justice to individuals accused of committing crimes against other individuals during the Kosovo war of freedom. The Special Court is not about justice for states, armies or ethnic groups; it is about justice for individual victims.

Kosovo fought in 1999 and we stood by your side. We have stayed with the victims; we have stood beside justice. No one will ever be able to rewrite history books for the campaign of atrocities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. But the reality is that some individuals who have fought for the right cause of Kosovo's freedom have committed serious crimes against others for whom they have to answer. That's exactly what the Special Court is for.

Victims, whose cases may be prosecuted by the Special Court, represent many ethnicities -- Albanians, Serbs, Roma and others. They were all people of Kosovo. All deserve equal treatment by law. Everyone has the same right to law. That is why Kosovo has established this court.

Special Court is deeply important to the United States. This court is of interest to us because our 1999 intervention was based on the idea that war crimes against everyone everywhere were an attack on international justice; we remember the sufferings of a million Kosovars expelled from their homes; placed in the mountains or beyond the Macedonian border; we want justice for them. American soldiers risk their lives to protect that principle, and we owe it to them to continue to protect it today.

We are interested because Kosovo cannot be the place where impunity is the rate. Accepting that reality meant turning to Milosevic-style leader, which a generation of Kosovo citizens has struggled to bring down.

Special Court interests us because we want Kosovo to take its rightful place as European country by joining NATO and the EU. The amendment, or breach, of the Law for the Special Court and demonstrating its contempt for rule of law would turn Kosovo back for years to its integration into European institutions. If you want to join a club, you have to live by the rules of that club. One of the most important regulations in the Euro-Atlantic club is the rule of law.

I have no idea when they would set up charges; or who I don't want to know. But whenever that happens, I expect Kosovo to respect them by fulfilling its promise to the international community.

We know that the other mechanisms of justice have come and gone. No system of justice is perfect; some are more successful than others. While the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has charged and condemned a number of top leaders for crimes committed in Kosovo, there have been many others who have committed war crimes and have not faced justice.

But, as Secretary Tillerson said on December 21st, we remain fully committed to finding perpetrators of cruel crimes. This certainly includes war criminals of all ethnicities living here or abroad who committed crimes in Kosovo.

The fact that some war criminals have escaped from justice does not give others impunity. All victims deserve justice. Kosovo must be willing to close this chapter in its history, even if it means that some wartime leaders are accountable.

Some say: "Why not have judgments here; we can do so ourselves. Well, we have invested a lot in Kosovo's justice system. But this system has not yet shown itself capable of sharing justice in high profile cases, and witnesses continue to be subject to intimidation, threats and violence. An external mechanism is still needed. Justice; justice for victims has waited long enough.

Therefore, I call on the people of Kosovo to insist that their leaders defend the right to justice that you have won at such a high price. Ask this: “What state do you want Kosovo to become”?

Do you want Kosovo to be a country where rule of law does not apply to those who have power or political friends? Do you want Kosovo to be a place where criminals face no consequences for their crimes? Do you want Kosovo to be the country left behind when others join the European Union?

Or do you want Kosovo to be the place where rule of law is respected, which protects the rights of victims and takes its place as a respected member of the international community and ally with the United States of America?

This is my vision of the future of your country. If you share this vision, stand by justice. Stay close to the victims. Stay with me against this attempt to corrupt Kosovo's commitment to the Special Court.

I want nothing more than to see Kosovo become a fair, recognised, successful state. I'm here to work with you, and I hope you work with me. Thank you very much”