McCain's speech when he was in Kosovo: I want to see your country succeed

US Senator John McCain, six times Republican senator from Arizona and war hero who has endured nearly six years of torture and captivity in the notorious Hanoi Hilton prison, has died at the age of 81. In 2017, McCain visited Kosovo and was decorated by President Hashim Thaci with “Freedom Order”.

In 2017 the US senator was addressed to Kosovo deputies in the Assembly with a speech. The US Senator made clear America's support for Kosovo, which he said from the very beginning, US commitment to Kosovo has been non-party.

“Actually, the US commitment to Kosovo has been non-party since the beginning. I have fond memories of working closely with the former democratic senator during 1990 Joe Biden to push ahead with a consistent US strategy in the Balkans, for quick and decisive action to stop the bloodshed in Kosovo, and ultimately, for Kosovo's independence”, McCain has said.

This is US Senator John McCain's full speech in Kosovo, given in 2017:

Thank you. Mr. Speaker of the Parliament, Mr. Prime Minister, dear friends, thank you for this warm welcome and for honoring me with the opportunity to address this House.

I came to Kosovo after visiting Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. After my stay here I have to admit it's too short I'm going to visit Albania. As I travel through Southeast Europe, my message is simple: the United States' commitment to the vision of full Europe; free and at peace remains iron. And my friends, strong Kosovo, democratic, multiethnic and independent, as a full member of the European family is essential to the success of that vision.

Maybe you heard that sometimes we have little disagreement in Washington. But I want you to know that members of the United States Congress from both political parties are fully committed to working with you in support of peace and prosperity in Kosovo and the wider region.

Indeed, the US commitment to Kosovo has been non-party since the beginning. I have fond memories of working closely with the former democratic senator during 1990 Joe Biden to push ahead with a consistent US strategy in the Balkans, for quick and decisive action to stop the bloodshed in Kosovo, and ultimately, for Kosovo's independence.

And today, I am very proud to be in front of you on my first visit to Kosovo from your independence and to witness the remarkable progress you have achieved.

In the past nine years, Kosovo has adopted a constitution and built the government from the foundation. Kosovo has been recognised by more than 100 UN member states. It has joined international organisations like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Kosovo has achieved progress towards some of its most important goals, including integration into the European Union, the integration of Kosovo Serbs into institutions, as well as the normalisation of relations with Serbia through the EU-led dialogue process, supported by the US.

In particular, I want to praise Kosovo for its efforts in the fight against terrorism. I don't believe your country received the credit for its pro-active approach to combating violent extremism. The law adopted by this Assembly has helped prevent the flow of foreign fighters in conflict areas. Since 2014, Kosovo Police have arrested approximately 120 individuals suspected of supporting terrorism. More than 30 people are on trial, while some cases have been successfully prosecuted. Last year, Kosovo authorities have helped prevent a terrorist plot during the football match between Albania and Israel. Kosovo is “with everything it has in the fight against terrorism, showing what contribution it can make as a full member of the family of nations.

Despite all this progress achieved, Kosovo still has much work to do. But in all this work, you will not be alone. The United States stands ready to support you to face challenges and take advantage of opportunities. If you allow me, as an old friend who wants to see Kosovo succeed, I would like to let you know my hopes for Kosovo's bright future.

I hope Kosovo continues its path towards European integration. Signing the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union in 2015 was the first step. Now is the time to continue the march of progress. I share President Thaci's view that adopting the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro, which would bring visa liberalisation with the EU, would present a strong step towards Kosovo's European future.

I hope Kosovo will achieve even greater economic growth that will increase Kosovo's most promising young people's opportunities and enable them to live their lives on purpose and to be fulfilled in the country they call home. In the global economy, where investors have choices where they want to take their money, corruption and organised crime will only keep Kosovo back. That is why the previous reforms for strengthening the rule of law are essential for fulfilling Kosovo's economic potential. Similarly, energy security is a necessary ingredient for economic growth, and for this reason, the US will continue to support the Kosovo C thermal power plant.

I also hope that Kosovo will continue to play a powerful role in advancing regional security. As Kosovo faces growing challenges, I believe KFOR will continue to play an important role in providing support for security and stability at the same time as Kosovo works to strengthen its security architecture. Moreover, I am determined to do all I can as head of the Senate Commission for Armed Services to ensure that the US offers support and assistance in terms of security Kosovo needs.

Eventually, Kosovo's long-term security is primarily rooted in its political and security relationship with the United States, NATO and other international partners, which are guaranteed through common democratic values and content towards rule of law. That is why it is so important that the transformation of the Kosovo Security Forces into the Kosovo Armed Forces is done through constitutional changes. This is the sovereign decision the people of Kosovo must make on their own. As President Thaci has stressed, this <x0-process should be gradual and involved with the commitment of all communities”, including the Kosovo Serbs. If this is done, I believe the transformation into the Kosovo Armed Forces in the long run will advance Kosovo, boost its international legitimacy, and provide future access to military aid.

In the end, I believe that Kosovo's future peace and prosperity depends on the success of the EU-backed dialogue on normalising relations with Serbia. This is hard work, but important. I know this dialogue hasn't always moved to the pace we'd like. But thanks to the dedication of your president, prime minister and mayor, as well as their parties in Belgrade, this process has brought significant progress.

My message to you is the same as I conveyed to Serbian Prime Minister Vuciq earlier this week: advancing EU-backed dialogue is in the interest of Kosovars and Serbs. It is vital for the common European future of Kosovo and Serbia. And it is essential for stability in Southeast Europe.

I know there are those who believe that Kosovo and Serbia will never normalise their relations... that the path of reconciliation may be possible for some nations, but not for yours... not in Kosovo, not in Serbia, not in the Balkans.

But I urge you to reject such fatalism. I know that for many people in Kosovo and Serbia, the pain of losing loved ones because of violence and war is not only written in a dark chapter of the distant past, but engraved in their hearts forever. I would never assume that I fully understand their mourning or that I understand the complex history of their events. But I know something about the horrors of war and the pain of loss. I know reconciliation is too difficult. But more important, I know how he can deliver people and nations to accomplish what they would never dream of possible.

Twenty years after the end of the long and bitter war that claimed the lives of 58,000 Americans and more than 3 million Vietnameses on both sides of the conflict, the United States and Vietnam normalized relations. If you had told me the day I left Vietnam in 1973 or even years later that Vietnam today would be one of the most important and promising partners in the United States... well, that just shows that reconciliation is possible, even after one of the bloodiest conflicts.

But it's not easy. Agreement is a deeply personal process. It was a long and difficult road for me and many others. But, in the end, we realized that since we should never forget the past, nothing was won by reliving it... the only hope of achieving the most promising future for both our countries was to build it together.

There are countless reasons why the United States and Vietnam narrative differs from that of Kosovo and Serbia. But what I believe is shared by these accounts and what gives me hope for the people of Kosovo is man's extraordinary ability to overcome things... to heal... to reconcile.

So, yes, I hope for a brighter morning for Kosovo: that you will be able to accept the painful past, that you will refuse to look back in anger, that you will be able to remove the heavy burdens of history, that your Serbian neighbours will look inside themselves and can do the same.

Let Kosovo be the country that shows the world once again that reconciliation is possible. As long as you do this, as Kosovo walks this long and difficult road, you will not walk on it alone. America will be with you.

Yes, we will be with you and with Southeast European countries for the simple reason that if my country leaves this region, it does so by putting itself at risk. Before I came to Kosovo, I was in Sarajevo. I stood at the foot of the Latin Bridge, where a single event changed the world, where a killer's bullet triggered a cycle of violence and war that destroyed the first half of the 20th century and burned Southeast Europe again in the last decade of that century.

It was a grim reminder of the old saying that even though history does not repeat itself, it still rhymes. We cannot deny the fact that this region, which stands at the crossroads of history, faces increasing tensions. Together we need to answer the question, Will we allow the past to define our future? Or are we going to choose by knowing history lessons to define a new and better future for ourselves and our children? I have come here to Kosovo to say that I believe we should and will choose that new and better future.