Former American diplomat Christopher Hill said he worked with both the Serbian and Albanian sides of Kosovo during the war years. For the latter side, he said it was difficult to find people who could speak with authority.

"This was a big challenge at the time. At times it was difficult to find people who could speak with authority because everyone had an opinion. It wasn't a problem to find someone who had an opinion - the problem was to find someone who had authority," Hill said, reports "Oath for Justice".

One of these individuals, according to Hill, was the leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova, whom he described as having a leadership position in Kosovo, which was informal.

On the Serbian side, he said he worked mainly with Slobodan Milosevic and his team, including the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Prime Minister, Milutinević.

The witness added that this part from the Serbian side was very limited, emphasizing that the work was mainly done with Milosevic.

Making the distinction between these parties, Hill said that you could talk to Milosevic alone about an issue, but it was not the same if you talked to Rugova alone as it could not be realized because there were different opinions on the same issue.

Hill: At first I tried to build a plan to return autonomy to Kosovo

(Updated, 15:25) - Christopher Hill, during his testimony in The Hague, said that in the Kosovo issue, he was engaged by the United States of America in May 1998, specifically by Madeleine Albright as the US Secretary of State, to whom he reported.

Hill - now a retired diplomat, said that he understood his role as a diplomat to offer support or a political solution and consequently help to repel the forces in Kosovo from the growing violence, reports "Oath for Justice".

"From the very beginning, I have tried with my colleagues at the State Department to build an autonomy plan in such a way that Kosovo's autonomy would be restored, so that Kosovo would have its own self-government. This was the main track that we were following with Kosovo and Serbia," Hill said.

The witness said this while answering questions from the calling party, which was Hashim Thaçi's defense represented by lawyer Luka Misetic.

The witness, speaking about the function he had in Macedonia and Albania, said that the Kosovo issue was a major topic in the Balkans, but that it was not the only one, referring also to the issue of the wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

"Kosovo was a very big topic for the Balkans, but at that time it was not the only issue being discussed because there were many wars that interfered with this issue, such as the war in Bosnia and Croatia," he said.

Until May 1998, Hill said he did not visit Kosovo until he was asked to take on additional responsibilities by the US.

The witness said that the Dayton talks were focused on ending the war in Bosnia, but that the topic of Kosovo was mentioned by American citizens of Kosovar origin who were seeking a solution for Kosovo. He said that he also talked about Kosovo with Slobodan Milosevic.

"I remember having direct conversations with President Milosevic in the context of the Dayton Peace Agreement that we knew that Kosovo would be the next issue," Hill said.

Christopher Hill, Thaçi's next witness, begins testimony in The Hague

Former American diplomat Christopher Hill is the next witness in the trial of Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selim and Jakup Krasniqi for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Hill, who bears the code 1DW-008, is the fifth witness called by Hashim Thaçi's defense, which is represented by lawyer Luka Misetic, reports "Oath for Justice".

Previously, a document was admitted into the list of material evidence at the request of the defense, which is a part of a video that will be used with this witness. This request was not opposed by the Prosecution.

The revised list of material evidence was required to be submitted by the defense no later than Friday.

Measures were imposed on this witness that his testimony will be limited to certain topics as requested by the information provider. Also, this witness may refuse to answer questions that constitute confidential answers. Also, this witness will be accompanied by a representative of the information authority.

So, along with Hill, Terra Gerhersanem - deputy legal advisor of the US Embassy in The Hague - appeared in this session.

The defense began presenting its evidence on September 15, 2025, where former US Assistant Secretary of State James Rubin was heard for three consecutive days.

While, after him, the former legal advisor to the Albanian delegation in Rambouillet, Paul Williams, was called. Meanwhile, the former political advisor to the NATO Supreme Commander, Wesley Clark, John Stewart Duncan began his testimony on September 22 and ended on September 23, 2025.

Meanwhile, on September 30, James Peter Covey, former deputy to the UN representative in Kosovo, Bernard Kouchner, began his testimony. Covey concluded his testimony on October 2.

On September 14, 2025, a massive protest was held in The Hague in support of former KLA leaders, attended by citizens from all Albanian lands and numerous expatriates.

The DSK has announced that November 14, 2025 has been set as the date for the conclusion of the defense case in this case, while the final submissions of the process and statements on the impact of the alleged crimes on the victims participating in the proceedings are planned to be submitted by December 22, 2025.

Meanwhile, on April 15, 2025, the Prosecution announced that it had completed presenting evidence in this case.

Meanwhile, the defense had filed a motion under Rule 130, which provides for the request to dismiss any or all charges in the indictment. The decision on this motion was made on July 16, 2025. According to the presiding judge, Charles Smith III, what the defense had requested was to disallow allegations of war crimes related to incidents that occurred before May 1998 and after June 20, 1999.

"The trial panel notes that the incidents and events that occurred at the time contested by the defense are not charges within the meaning of Rule 130," said presiding judge Charles Smith III.

As a result, this motion was dismissed on the grounds that the trial panel does not have the authority to dismiss material constituting the charges relating to temporal causes. Meanwhile, on the same day, the victims' defense presented its evidence by calling two expert witnesses to testify simultaneously.

In addition to testifying on July 16, 2025, the testimony of these two witnesses continued on July 17, 2025, thus completing the taking of testimony from victim defense witnesses.

The Office of the Specialized Prosecutor, on September 30, 2022, submitted the confirmed amended indictment against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selim, which consists of ten counts, where the latter are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

On April 29, 2022, the Office of the Specialized Prosecutor submitted an amended indictment against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selim and Jakup Krasniqi, where it is claimed that the four accused have also committed war crimes in Gjilan, Budakovo and Semetishte.

On November 9, 2020, in their first appearances, Jakup Krasniqi and Hashim Thaçi pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. Veseli stated the same in his appearance on November 10, as did Rexhep Selimi on November 11.

The indictment against Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi was confirmed on October 26, 2020. /Oath of Justice/

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