Robert O'Brien, the United States National Security Advisor, said he was ready to host Serbia's and Kosovo's leaders and President Donald Trump's special envoy for the Belgrade – Pristina dialogue on the normalisation of relations Richard Grenell, who should meet in Washington on June 27, the Voice of America (VOA) reported late on Tuesday.
Grenell has announced the two delegations would meet at the White House and described it as great news, adding the talks would focus on the economy.
“I am pleased to host the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo with @RichardGrenell at the White House. The United States is looking forward to these important discussions.” – NSA Robert O’Brien https://t.co/39hPbXJkXh
— NSC (@WHNSC) June 16, 2020
Pristina welcomed the US initiative, hoping the talks would result in Belgrade’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence. At the same time, Belgrade said it would not allowthat final status of its former province be on the meeting agenda.
Some analysts say the US has become involved in Kosovo issue aiming to score an international victory ahead of Trump’s attempt to win his second term in November.
Brussels was not delighted with a sudden move by Washington which came on the day when the European Union’s special envoy for the dialogue Miroslav Lajčák was due to Pristina for talks with the leaders there.
After the meetings, he said the EU wanted Belgrade and Pristina to resume the dialogue as soon as possible and reach a final agreement to normalise their relations.
Lajčák will come to Belgrade on June 22, the day after the general elections in Serbia. Some politicians believe that the US would not invite the two sides for the meeting if it did not receive assurances that a deal would be made.
However, Grenell tweeted that if either side were not happy with the talks, they would return to the status quo regarding their relations.
