Serbia and Kosovo open embassies in Jerusalem



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Serbia announced on Friday (09/04) that it will move its embassy to Jerusalem, while the Muslim majority in Kosovo will recognize Israel. The measures come amid US-mediated talks to normalize economic ties between Belgrade and Pristina.

“Kosovo will be the first country with a Muslim majority to open an embassy in Jerusalem,” said Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu. “As I said in recent days, Israel’s cycle of peace and recognition is expanding and more countries are expected to join.”

Only two countries, the United States and Guatemala, have already opened embassies in Jerusalem, following Trump’s unilateral decision. The Palestinians have opposed this measure.

The Jerusalem regime is one of the thorniest obstacles to a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians, who, with broad international support, hope that East Jerusalem, which was occupied by Israel in the 1967 war, will become their capital. .

Israel considers the entire city, including the eastern sector annexed after the 1967 war, as its capital.

Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed last month to normalize diplomatic relations in an agreement reached with Trump.

Economic relations normalization agreement

Hours earlier, after two days of talks at the White House, Serbia and Kosovo agreed to normalize economic relations, US President Donald Trump said, welcoming what he described as a “significant development” a decade later. Kosovo declaring its independence. from Serbia in 2008.

“Serbia and Kosovo have pledged to normalize their economic relations,” the US president said in the Oval Office, without elaborating on the exact framework to implement the agreement. He added that the two leaders (Serbia and Kosovo) showed “enormous courage.”

“The economy can bring people together,” he said.

“It’s really historic,” he added, with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and his Kosovo counterpart Hashim Thaci sitting next to the occupant of the White House.

Vucic, for his part, said that Trump had done an “excellent job” and invited him to Serbia.

Speaking from the Oval Office before meeting with the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo, Trump said that Serbia had also committed to moving its embassy to Jerusalem and that Kosovo and Israel had agreed to normalize ties and enter into diplomatic relations.

Belgrade refuses to recognize Kosovo’s independence, declared in 2008 after war in the late 1990s left 13,000 dead. Serbia is backed by its Russian and Chinese allies, and the United States is among the countries that immediately recognized the new state of Kosovo.

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