The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, resigned on Friday after being called in for questioning by a war crimes court in The Hauge.

The court is investigating ex-members of the Kosovo Liberation Army for their actions during the war from 1998-99 that led to Kosovo’s independence from Serbia. Haradinaj was a guerrilla commander in that war.

Haradinaj stated, “[t]he honor of the Prime Minister and the State must be preserved, and I will never stain it. In the Hague I will go as Ramush Haradinaj and will face the defamation, as required by the honor of the Albanian fighter.”

Kosovo and Serbia have been at odds since November 2018 when Kosovo imposed a 100 percent tariff on goods made in Serbia. This move will cause further delays in normalization of relations between the two countries. Both Serbia and Kosovo have been told that they will not be able to join the EU until they normalize relations.

In his resignation speech, Hardinaj supported the tariff in saying, “[a]s Prime Minister of the Government of Kosovo I strongly believe that the price for recognition is our market, and for that the 100% tariff should be the price of recognition.”

Haradinaj previously resigned as Prime Minister in 2005 when he was indicted by the UN War Crimes Tribunal for former Yugoslavia, he was acquitted twice by that court.