Serbia, Kosovo normalize economic ties, gesture to Israel
WASHINGTON
(AP) — President Donald Trump announced Friday that Serbia and Kosovo
have agreed to normalize economic ties as part of U.S.-brokered talks
that include Belgrade moving its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, and
mutual recognition between Israel and Kosovo.
After two days of
meetings with Trump administration officials, Serbian President
Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti agreed to
cooperate on a range of economic fronts to attract investment and create
jobs. The announcement provided Trump with a diplomatic win ahead of
the November presidential election and furthers his administration’s
push to improve Israel’s international standing.
“I’m pleased to
announce a truly historic commitment,” Trump said in the Oval Office,
standing alongside the two leaders. “Serbia and Kosovo have each
committed to economic normalization.”
“After a violent and tragic
history and years of failed negotiations, my administration proposed a
new way of bridging the divide. By focusing on job creation and economic
growth, the two countries were able to reach a major breakthrough,” the
president said.
Trump said Serbia has committed to open a commercial office in Jerusalem this month and move its embassy there in July.
Serbia’s
decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a nod to
both Israel and the United States. The Trump administration recognized
Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in late 2017 and moved the U.S. embassy
there in May 2018.
The administration has encouraged other
countries to do the same but has been widely criticized by the
Palestinians and many in Europe because the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
remains unresolved. Until now, Kosovo, a predominantly Muslim country,
has never before recognized Israel nor has Israel recognized Kosovo.
In
a rare statement issued after the start of the Jewish sabbath, Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the president of Serbia for
moving the embassy to Jerusalem. He confirmed that Israel and Kosovo
will establish diplomatic relations and said Pristina also will open its
embassy in Jerusalem.
“Kosovo will be the first majority-Muslim
country to open an embassy in Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said. “As I’ve said
in recent days, the circle of peace and recognition of Israeli is
widening and is expected to add additional countries.”
In all, a
total of four countries now recognize contested Jerusalem as Israel’s
capital, including the U.S. and Guatemala. The Palestinians claim east
Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as their would-be
capital.
The gestures to Israel are part of the Trump
administration’s push to support the Jewish state, which has included
forceful denunciations of criticism of Israel at the United Nations and
in other international venues.
Most recently, the administration
brokered a deal for Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalize
relations. That was followed by the first commercial flight between
Israel and the UAE, with neighboring Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to allow
such flights to pass through their airspace. Additional Arab states,
including Sudan, Bahrain and Oman, have been identified as countries
that might also normalize relations with Israel.
Kosovo’s
Parliament declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nine years after
NATO conducted a 78-day airstrike campaign against Serbia to stop a
bloody crackdown against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
Most Western
nations have recognized Kosovo’s independence, but Serbia and its allies
Russia and China have not. The ongoing deadlock and Serbia’s
unwillingness to recognize Kosovo have kept tensions simmering and
prevented full stabilization of the Balkan region after the bloody wars
in the 1990s.
“These were difficult talks for us, but I’m truly satisfied,” Vucic told Serbian reporters in Washington.
He
stressed that the economic agreement does not include “mutual
recognition” between Serbia and Kosovo. But he hailed the talks as a big
victory for Serbia and a step toward closer ties with the U.S. Despite
officially seeking membership in the European Union, Serbia has been
forging close political, economic and military ties with Russia and
China.
Hoti said moving ahead with economic normalization was a
“huge step forward.” He said rail links and various other major
infrastructure projects discussed will bring an estimated $1.18 billion
($1 billion euros) in major economic changes to Kosovo in the next three
to five years.
Kosovo also agreed to a one-year pause in efforts
seeking new membership in international organizations. And Serbia
agreed to a one-year pause of any campaign against Kosovo’s efforts for
membership into international organizations and new recognition from
other countries.
Serbia and Kosovo earlier OK’d air, rail and
transit agreements, including one that would clear the way for the first
flight between Pristina and Belgrade in 21 years. Trump envoy Richard
Grenell said U.S. companies also could benefit from normalizing
commerce.
“American companies were telling us they were pulling
out — like rental car companies. Because if you rented a car in Kosovo,
you couldn’t drive over the border. You couldn’t leave,” Grenell said.
“So we had American businesses beginning to pull back, saying it just
doesn’t make sense. And the Europeans were complaining just as much.”
On
Monday, Vucic and Hoti are scheduled to go to Brussels to hold talks
under the auspices of the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and
special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue Miroslav Lajcak.
The EU has mediated the talks between the two former wartime foes for more than a decade, and the parallel U.S. effort, although focused on economic development, has not been fully embraced by some EU officials.
Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Washington, Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Llazar Semini in Tirana, Albania, and Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this report.