Balkan Foes Head to White House as U.S. Swipes Talks From EU

Serbia and Kosovo plan to start a dialog to mend ties under the auspices of the U.S. later this month, a snub to European Union efforts to bring the former wartime foes back to the negotiating table.

Leaders of the two Balkan neighbors are expected at the White House on June 27. The agreement follows both sides suspending rival campaigns over the international recognition of Kosovo, which split unilaterally from Serbia in 2008 almost a decade after NATO bombing forced Serb troops out of its territory.

The U.S. envoy for the region, Richard Grenell, announced the plan on Monday as EU diplomat Miroslav Lajcak was on his way to Kosovo to revive EU-mediated negotiations that stalled in 2018.“I welcome the invitation to resume the dialogue process for normalising relations between Kosovo and Serbia under the leadership of the President of the United States Donald Trump,” Kosovo President Hashim Thaci said on Facebook.

Thaci also said he may refuse to meet with Lajcak, expected in Kosovo on Tuesday, if he has “nothing concrete to say,” reiterating his reservations about the EU mediation.

The competing bids to resolve one of Europe’s most stubborn disputes appeared to escalate a transatlantic rivalry for influence in a region where Russia, China and Turkey are also seeking to step up their presence.

Serbia insists Kosovo is its historic heartland and refuses to accept its secession. Belgrade has relied on Russia and China to block Kosovo’s admission into United Nations and other international bodies and has intensively worked to reverse the recognition of some countries.

Battle of Elephants

Germany’s former ambassador to the U.S., Wolfgang Ischinger, said on Twitter that the U.S. initiative lacked coordination with its European partners. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that, while he accepted Grenell’s invitaiton, the visit to the U.S. wasn’t meant as an affront to the EU.

“It’s important that in the battle of elephants we remain unhurt,” Vucic said, acknowledging a disconnect between the U.S. and Germany and saying that he would meet Lajcak after Serbia’s June 21 elections. “We’re not going to fight with Germany or America.”

Grenell oversaw an agreement in February under which Serbia and Kosovo agreed to develop road and rail links to boost economic cooperation before resolving their long-lasting enmity.

“If either side is unsatisfied with the June 27 discussions then they will go back to the status quo after they leave Washington,” Grenell said in on Twitter. “We must first make progress on growing the economies.”

The EU and the U.S. were also at odds over the ouster of former Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti in March. While German and French ambassadors spoke out against the no-confidence vote that toppled him, their U.S. colleague said he was pleased to see the motion taking place. Kurti slammed Grenell for helping orchestrate his dismissal.