The United States hopes to foster a breakthrough in talks between Balkan war foes Kosovo and Serbia as leaders of the two countries meet at the White House Thursday and Friday, the AFP said adding that President Donald Trump seems to want an agreement between the two sides before the US presidential elections.

“US officials hope that bringing Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic together for discussions on economic cooperation could help set them on the road for improved relations….But coming two months before the US presidential election and without a major agreement promised, the summit has the feel, some think, of a show to display Trump as a master of diplomacy,” the agency said, recalling that the US administration has been trying to play a role in the Kosovo talks with Trump appointing Ambassador Richard Grenell as his special envoy for the issue.

“While Grenell has been accused of complicating the EU-led process to bring Belgrade and Pristina to an accord, he succeeded in arranging for the two sides to meet,” AFP said. The agency was told by an advisor to the US president who insisted on anonymity that the US role has been to bypass politicians and focus on the issues of businesspeople, who want to expand commerce. “Companies are frustrated,” the advisor said. The political communities on both sides “have largely failed to move us forward.” “On Thursday… we’re going to further those three agreements (on road, rail and air links), and then add a whole bunch of issues to the discussions that would create commerce, that would create economic development and jobs,” the advisor said.

Washington wants to see if more investment and job creation “could somehow change the dynamic of the situation,” AFP said.

“Some worry that, if the aim of the summit is to boost Trump’s reelection prospects, Washington could quickly lose interest if nothing happens,” the agency said and quoted a former US diplomat who said that “Grenell’s objective is to forge some sort of a quick win on economic issues that he can present as a foreign policy success for the Trump administration”. “We have the best chance of success in terms of moving issues forward in the Balkans when the US and Europe are working hand in hand with a common agenda,” the diplomat said. “In this case, we don’t see either one of those things.”