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Sunday, September 06, 2020
US President Trump continues to strive for diplomatic success. After Israel and the Emirates, he now wants to bring Serbia and Kosovo closer together. However, he gets concessions on another matter from both parties, which are apparently not immediately clear to everyone.
Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to an economic rapprochement and want to strengthen their relations with Israel. In a ceremony at the White House in the presence of US President Donald Trump, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti signed an economic cooperation agreement between the two countries. Serbia will also move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. According to the White House, Kosovo wants to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.
Trump spoke of a “truly historic day” at the ceremony. “By focusing on job creation and economic growth, the two countries have made real progress in economic cooperation on a number of issues,” the Republican said. However, no information was initially provided on the content of the agreement.
“Brave and historic”
Trump described Serbian President Vucic’s decision to move the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem as “courageous and historic.” The fact that Kosovo, which is inhabited mainly by Muslims, wants to normalize its relations with Israel, means “another great day for peace in the Middle East.” Meanwhile, on Twitter, a small video clip is circulating during Trump’s announcement about the content of the contract. In this, Vucic gives the impression that not all the content was clear to him, especially the relocation of the message.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Vucic for moving the embassy. However, the Palestinians received strong criticism: “Palestine is a victim of Trump’s electoral ambitions,” said Palestinian chief negotiator Sajeb Erakat. The president of the United States plans to be re-elected for a second term on November 3. In a controversial move, the Trump administration recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in late 2017 and moved the embassy there in May 2018. This sparked angry protests from the Palestinians.
Grenell-mediated approach
The day before, Serbian President Vucic and Kosovar Prime Minister Hoti met at the White House to discuss the economic rapprochement. The US special envoy for the region, Richard Grenell, who was the US ambassador to Berlin until the summer, acted as a mediator. 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. 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 side talks under EU mediation, and that Trump is only interested in a diplomatic success before the presidential election. The Republican, who is currently behind his challenger Joe Biden of the opposition Democrats in the polls, also wants to score points in the election campaign with foreign policy issues.
