OREANDA-NEWS. The fifth President of the partially recognized Republic of Kosovo, Hashim Thaci, is leaving his post, Associated Press reports. The politician announced his decision at a press conference. Thaci is leaving office to stand trial in The Hague on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The President said that in this way he is taking a step “to protect the integrity of the presidency” in Kosovo.

The Republic of Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, after a long conflict. More than 100 UN member states supported its independence. From time to time on the borders of Serbia and Kosovo, aggravation occurs again.

In the 1990s, Thaci was one of the commanders the Kosovo Liberation Army, which consisted of Albanian separatists. In Serbia, this group was considered terrorist, and Thaci was accused of smuggling, arms trafficking and connections with mafia. In 1997, the court in Pristina found Thaci guilty of terrorist activities and sentenced him in absentia to 10 years in prison. In the early 2000s, Serbia began accusing him of acts of genocide and trade in human organs.

After the war, Thaci founded the Democratic Party of Kosovo. In 2008–2014, he served as the prime minister of the republic, and in 2016 he was elected president.