The New York Times has accused the Trump administration of upending the US foreign policy in the Balkans, sidelining the EU, pressuring Kosovo and ignoring Serbia’s erosion of democracy.
An article by Patrick Kingsley and Kenneth P. Vogel titled “Pushing for Serbia-Kosovo Peace Deal, US Roils Allies” argues that since Richard Grenell was appointed President Trump’s envoy for Kosovo-Serbia talks in October 2019, the US administration’s policy in the region has shifted from its tradition.
All past administrations have guaranteed Kosovo’s security, and worked closely with European allies to do so. Under the current administration there is no collaboration with European partners; the White House meeting of June 27 was arranged without consulting the EU.
Whilst Grenell’s supporters claim that his involvement is pushing Kosovo-Serbia talks ahead, critics worry that the Trump administration is rewarding the two Presidents Hashim Thaci and Aleksandar Vucic by hosting them at the White House, despite accusations for undermining democratic institutions in their countries. They add that Grenell’s strategy for a quick deal between them “simply won’t work”.
The article further explains that Grenell has tried to resolve the dispute by increasing the pressure on Kosovo, a US ally, which brought to the toppling of its government led by Albin Kurti. They forced Kurti to drop tariffs on Serbian goods, threatened to withdraw American support for Kosovo, froze $50 million in aid, and prominent Republicans suggested withdrawing American troops from Kosovo. These led to the Kurti government being replaced with one closer to Thaci, who is Grenell’s favorite interlocutor.
By contrast, Grenell has asked little of Serbia and its president, a Russian ally. The Trump administration has said little about Serbia’s campaign to block Kosovo’s membership in international organizations, and ignored the strains Vucic has placed on Serbian democracy.
Authors note that while Vucic is expected to win by a landslide in Sunday elections, Serbia is backsliding on democracy, and most opposition parties have boycotted the elections to protest the president’s autocratic policies.
The NYT article reveals that the three agreements on restoring transport routes between Kosovo and Serbia, brokered by Grenell, were signed in separate texts with different wording, and were “merely letters of intent signed by minor officials.” Furthermore, they duplicated previous agreements signed during the EU-facilitated talks since 2011.
In another revelation, it states that Grenell had sought the post of envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue at his own request, after two meetings in Berlin with Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci, despite having shown little previous interest in the region. Back then, he had told associates that he wanted to fill the vacuum created by the European foreign policy.
His appointment overlapped with that of an experienced Balkans specialist, Matthew Palmer, who had been appointed to a similar position barely a month earlier. The authors suggest that this echoes the Trump administration’s approach in Ukraine, where ambassadors worked alongside a trio of envoys close to Trump.
The Trump administration’s departure from the US policy in the region appeared in the summer of 2018, when American officials, including John Bolton, supported a Kosovo-Serbia deal based on land swaps. The shift was agreed with “some officials from the European Union, which led mediation attempts at the time,” authors note, apparently meaning EU chief diplomat Federica Mogherini, who was accused of supporting such a Thaci-Vucic deal.
Four former American officials, who cited people involved in the negotiations, told NYT that Thaci and Vucic had reached a deal on some terms of a future treaty, including the idea of adjusting Kosovo’s borders. However, the talks stalled when Prime Minister Kurti insisted that he would lead the Kosovo team in negotiations. Grenell spoke out against Kurti in order to save the momentum Thaci and Vucic had created. Grenell “realiz[ed] that the window is closing and he want[ed] to get it concluded, ratified and implemented.”
