The US Assistant Secretary of State, James O'Brien, has said that the United States is very concerned with the decision of the Government of Kosovo not to allow the use of the dinar, calling on them to withdraw the decision.

O'Brien said that with this decision, the Government of Kosovo has questioned the partnership with the USA.

"I don't make lukewarm threats in public. I would say that if we are not treated as a partner, we will not treat the Government of Kosovo as a partner either", said O'Brien in an interview for the Voice of America on Tuesday.

The new regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo, which entered into force on February 1, makes the euro the only currency for payments in Kosovo. This has prompted reactions from the Serbian community that accepts payments in dinars from Serbia. The internationals have called on the Government to postpone the decision for a transition period, in order to better inform the citizens. But the Government has not given signs that they will give up - although the CBK has announced that there will be a three-month deadline for "education and information" of the communities.

But O'Brien is calling for the decision to be withdrawn entirely and then a solution found.

"People need to know how they will pay their bills. When I read the statement of the Central Bank, it does not say that the use of the dinar will be allowed. Says an alternative will be offered. This had to be done before implementing the decision in cooperation with the affected communities and the neighbors affected by the decision and frankly with the European Union and us. So no, they should stop this immediately and then work towards solving the concrete problem that they want to solve, just as modern European states act", he emphasized.

O'Brien said that Kosovo did not consider the advice of its partners for this decision.

"Modern European countries solve these issues with preliminary dialogue and inform the residents in time", he said, adding that after the decision there was only a short exchange with Prime Minister Albin Kurti.

O'Brien further said that the CBK's decision on the dinar was taken without planning and hastily.

"This is a matter of partnership and ability in governance. All the problems that have been encountered since this decision was announced were identified in the first 5-10 minutes after we learned about it. However, the government proceeded with its implementation without warning and has left a number of its citizens confused about how to pay for bread, rent and electricity, which some of them have only just started paying. This is not a form of effective governance. We are very concerned, as this shows the government's inability to serve its citizens, but also for the partnership. Being part of Europe today means solving issues through dialogue with effective planning and warning. This decision was announced hastily, without warning and without an attempt to use the existing mechanisms to find answers to all the problems that could arise", declared the assistant secretary of the USA.