Former senior US official, James Rubin, has testified at the Specialist Chambers in The Hague in defense of former President Hashim Thaçi.
Rubin, the first witness for Hashim Thaçi’s defense, testified for several hours in The Hague about his acquaintance, meetings, and communications with Thaçi and other members of the KLA.
According to Rubin, Thaçi had neither the knowledge, nor the ability, nor the power to make decisions, casting doubt on the prosecution’s claims of a centralized KLA structure.
He described Thaçi as a political figure, not a military one.
Former US Assistant Secretary of State James Rubin, during his testimony at the Specialist Chambers in The Hague, denied that the reason why Hashim Thaçi did not sign the first Rambouillet agreement was related to his reluctance to disarm the KLA.
Rubin emphasized that the Albanian side was seeking guarantees from NATO for the use of force in the event that Serbia continued its repression.
He said that Thaçi also sought the approval of Adem Demaçi, who according to him had opposed the signing.
In his testimony, Rubin accused American diplomat Christopher Hill of bias against the KLA and of attempting to damage his image and that of Secretary Madeleine Albright.
The witness also stressed that he had found no evidence that Thaçi or Jakup Krasniqi were involved in murders or executions and that such accusations were often fabricated to damage the relationship between Kosovo and the US.
Trial in The Hague, September 15, 2025
His testimony has been described by analysts in Kosovo as a challenge to the prosecution’s accusations, presenting the KLA as a decentralized structure and not as an organization capable of planning systematic crimes.
Political reactions in Kosovo have been numerous.
The PDK and OVL-UCK welcomed the testimony as clear support for the justice of the liberation war.
The leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, Memli Krasniqi, said of Rubin’s testimony that “a great friend from across the Atlantic is testifying” in The Hague.
MP Vlora Çitaku called Thaçi a unique figure who brought the KLA closer to the West.
James Rubin and Hashim Thaçi in 1999
Analyst Agon Maliqi called Rubin’s testimony an important historical document that dismantles propaganda narratives and shows the chaotic reality of the war, while Lulzim Peci described it as a public lecture on the modern history of Kosovo.
From North Macedonia, Ali Ahmeti thanked the US and the democratic world for their support for the KLA war.
Meanwhile, Alban Krasniqi from LVV stressed that Rubin’s testimony highlighted that the military leader of the KLA was Agim Çeku, not Hashim Thaçi. The former US assistant secretary is expected to continue his testimony tomorrow.
The session is expected to start at 09:00. /Telegrafi/