Moreover, despite being diagnosed with lung cancer in September, he had elected to stay in office and serve as the head of the Kosovo Albanian negotiating team for talks on resolving the province's final status.
Unatoč tome što mu je u rujnu ustanovljeno da boluje od raka pluća, izabrao je ostati na dužnosti i biti šef pregovaračkog tima kosovskih Albanaca u razgovorima o rješavanju konačnog statusa pokrajine.