A letter from President Trump was given to the President of Kosovo urging him to “capitalize on this unique opportunity” surrounding the creation of a military to reach a “comprehensive peace” with neighboring Serbia.
NATO forcibly separated Kosovo from Serbia in a 1999 war, and has
maintained that separation since. Serbia does not recognize Kosovar
independence, nor do some other nations. The creation of a Kosovo
military, backed by the US, has been opposed by Serbia and the rest of
NATO as potentially provocative.
Trump however is embracing it as a sign of progress, saying the US “has
invested heavily in the success of Kosovo.” In the letter he also
offered to play host to the Serbian and Kosovar presidents for the
purposes of working on such a deal.
Negotiating such a peace deal would be complicated. Kosovo’s government
is notoriously hostile to their ethnic Serbian minority, which lives on
the Serbian border and wants to be part of Serbia. The US and NATO,
however, have opposed the idea of giving the border Serbs the right of
self-determination, insisting they remain part of historical Kosovo, and
that Kosovo, while historically a Serbian province, remain independent.
Trump Urges Kosovo to Reach ‘Historic’ Deal With Serbia
Offers to host Serb, Kosovar presidents at White House
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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