Kosovo Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, resigned on Friday, after being summoned as a suspect by The Hague-based Special Chamber for war crimes committed by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the 1998-1999 war in Kosovo, in which he served as commander before becoming active in politics.

Haradinaj stressed he has not been indicted by the Chamber, which was set up in 2015 to try war crimes committed by the KLA in 1998-99, but summoned for questioning as a suspect, adding he decided to submit his resignation because remaining Prime Minister in this situation could potentially cause damage to Kosovo.

“I’m going to the Hague as Ramush Haradinaj, and not as Prime Minister,” he said.

This is the second time Haradinaj had to step down as Prime Minister, the first time being in 2005, after he was charged by the now-inactive International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for war crimes committed by the KLA against Serbs, Romani, and Albanians during the 1998-99 conflict. He was acquitted on all charges in 2008, and then again in 2012 after a partial retrial ordered by the court’s Appeals Chamber.

“After the resignation, I returned my mandate to the people and you are the first to know,“ Haradinaj told reporters on Friday, after the government session.

He said that the responsibility now was with the Kosovo President, Hashim Thaci, to start talks with the parliamentary parties and set the date for the next election.

“My party and I will run at the next election, but I couldn‘t lead the country in this situation because that would make Kosovo‘s position difficult,“ Haradinaj said.

He added that the government would continue working in its technical capacity, without a vacuum, until a new one is elected, adding the import taxes on goods from Serbia and Bosnia, introduced late last year, would remain in place.

The move came only hours after he confirmed a new meeting will take place between Serbia’s and Kosovo officials, scheduled to be held in Paris in September.