[ad_1]
President Vucic and Prime Minister Hoti in Trump at the White House
© APA (AFP)
US President Donald Trump announced on Friday a “historic agreement” on the economic rapprochement in the conflict between Serbia and Kosovo. In meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti at the White House, Trump also announced that Serbia would move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, following the example of the United States.
In a ceremony at the White House in Washington, Serbia and Kosovo agreed on an economic rapprochement. Vucic and Hoti signed a corresponding document in the presence of the presidents of the United States. No more detailed information on the content was provided initially.
Trump spoke of a “historic day.” Serbia and Kosovo have decided on economic cooperation on a number of issues, he said. With the agreement, Serbia and Kosovo “made their countries, the Balkans and the world” safer, Trump said. He hopes to visit both countries “in the not too distant future.” The United States views the normalization of economic relations between Serbia and Kosovo as a step toward political rapprochement.
Kosovo seceded from Serbia in 2008. The Belgrade government still does not recognize independence and considers Kosovo a separatist province. The EU is the main mediator in the conflict, but the United States has also recently intervened. The US special envoy for the region, Richard Grenell, who was the US ambassador to Berlin until the summer, acts as a mediator.
In July, after a hiatus of a year and a half, the two sides held direct talks again under the mediation of the EU for the first time. Brussels makes Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence a prerequisite for Serbia’s accession to the EU.
Critics fear that Washington’s mediation could hamper EU-mediated side talks, and that Trump is only interested in a diplomatic success before the November presidential election.
Another Trump foreign policy success is the relocation of the Serbian embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump announced that Serbia will open a trade office in Jerusalem this month. The Serbian embassy should move to Jerusalem in July next year. According to Israeli sources, Serbia would be the first European country to open an embassy in Jerusalem.
“That’s fantastic,” Trump said. “We really appreciate it.” After the trialogue meeting at the White House, the US president announced that the Muslim majority of Kosovo and Israel had also agreed to normalize their relationship and establish diplomatic relations.
Trump unilaterally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in late 2017 and moved the US embassy there from Tel Aviv in May 2018. Since then, the Palestinians have been boycotting the US government. Trump cites the relocation of the US embassy in the US election campaign as a major success for his administration.
Jerusalem is home to the major religious centers of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Since 1967, Israel has occupied both the western and eastern part of Arab influence. The state of the city is one of the central themes of the Middle East conflict. Israel claims Jerusalem as its “eternal and indivisible capital.” Israel rejects the Palestinian claim of the eastern part as the future capital of an independent Palestinian state.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the Serbian head of state for his decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem, according to a spokesman. Netanyahu also paid tribute to Trump for his contribution. Trump said, “I think we are going to have a great peace in the Middle East.”
[ad_2]
