“We are proud of the Kosovo friendship ) US”, what did Burns say when he visited Kosovo on his first visit 12 years ago?

American Central Intelligence Agency Chief (CIA), William Burns, is staying in Kosovo from this Thursday, where after meeting with country President Vjosa Osmani, he has met with Prime Minister Albin Kurtin today.

About Burns' meetings with state leaders, so far none of the parties have been declared.

But this is not the first visit Burns is making to Kosovo, as he was here in 2012 in the quality of the deputy secretary of State, and compared to now, then he had issued powerful statements in support of the newest state in Europe, Zeri.info writes.

Burns had met with then Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, President Atifete Jahjaga and with other representatives of international missions in Kosovo on his first 12 years.

He had mentioned that the strong and lasting friendship of the United States with Kosovo is known.

We are deeply proud of him. We remain committed to Kosovo's independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty. We share the same vision for your country to see Kosovo take its rightful place in Euro-Atlantic institutions, including NATO and the European Union. We will continue to work with Kosovo leaders and institutions in meeting their obligations so that we can end supervised independence”, he said.

He had added that the United States actively supports strengthening democratic institutions in Kosovo, Zeri.info writes.

We believe it is deeply in the personal interest of all those living here whether you are a Serb or an Albanian building a better and more promising future. In particular, we believe it is extremely important for any democracy and any society to focus on the importance of rule of law”.

If you look around the world, it is difficult to find any example of a society that is successful in fighting a problem like corruption, except when there is an independent and objective media and an independent judiciary to hold people responsible. That is much easier said than done, but it is an extremely important goal”, Burns had said during his visit to Kosovo in February 2012.