Happy Sunday!
Welcome to the latest edition of the Balkan Voice newsletter, your ultimate source to US policy on the Western Balkans. This Sunday, we’ve engaged with key figures, including the State Department spokesperson and the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Belgrade’s chief negotiator, Petar Petkovic.
We have the news.
The Western Balkans is stepping into the spotlight on the global stage, or at least the United States is making a push to draw attention to a region that has been largely overlooked in the media coverage.
James O’Brien, Assistant Secretary Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs conducted a virtual briefing via the Brussels hub earlier this week, addressing the European and local press focused on the region.
In the realm of the Balkans, the key policy words are “peace” and “stability.” Pavlovic Today reached out to the State Department spokesperson to discuss for this Sunday edition of the Balkan Voice newsletter the US priorities for 2024.
Here’s the news first seen in the Balkan Voice.
EURO-ATLANTIC INTEGRATION
The “top priority” of the United States in the Western Balkans is to support the countries in the region in realizing their full economic and democratic potential through Euro-Atlantic integration and regional cooperation, the State Department spokesperson stated.
The US commitment extends to collaborative efforts with both Western Balkan nations and European partners to propel governance, rule of law, electoral, and anti-corruption reforms.
These US efforts aim to “help them achieve these aspirations and bring lasting peace, stability, and prosperity to the region.”
BELGRADE-PRISTINA DIALOG
Belgrade-Pristina Dialog remains the focal point of the US support of the region in 2024.
“We have also been very clear that we fully support the EU-facilitated Dialogue and efforts to achieve a peaceful, predictable relationship between the two countries,” the State Department spokesperson outlined.
In our pursuit of insights into Serbia’s 2024 priorities in the ongoing negotations, we reached out to Serbia’s Chief Negotiator Petar Petkovic in Belgrade. Here’s what he shared with us.
“In 2024, Belgrade remains firmly committed to continuation of the dialogue with Pristina and on the path towards normalization of relations in order to do everything to make lives of our people in the Province easier and to preserve peace which irresponsible politicians from Pristina strive to undermine every day,” Petkovic told The Pavlovic Today’s Balkan Voice.
The formation of the Serb-majority municipalities, the provision of the 2013 Brussels agreement Kosovo government did not complete thus far is of the “absolute” priority for Serbia according to Belgrade’s chief negotiator.
“Our absolute priority, which we will keep insisting on with the same intensity, remains the establishment of the Community of Serb Majority Municipalities with competences negotiated and agreed in Brussels in 2013 and 2015,” he emphasized.
“It has been eleven years since Pristina has been refusing to meet obligations taken in the dialogue, and the European Union itself is the guarantor of the implementation of the respective,” noted Petkovic.
“Such Pristina’s position, together with all escalatory moves it makes on a daily basis gives actually, a systemic blow to the dialogue and makes it meaningless, which is something we will never agree to,” Petkovic added.
“It is up to us [Belgrade] to remain responsible and reliable, to preserve peace and our Serbian people in the Province,” stated Petkovic.
WAR IN UKRAINE
Where the Western Balkans becomes the geopolitical priority for the US becomes increasingly evident is the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and its malign efforts in the Western Balkans underscore the urgency and importance of these priorities,” stated the State Department spokesperson.
“The countries of the Western Balkans, as all of Europe, have a deep stake in the outcome of Russia’s war against Ukraine, which threatens the foundations of established international order and security,” the spokesperson added.
”That’s why it is critical that we continue to stand together in the face of Russia’s aggression.”
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The Balkan Voice, your essential newsletter covering US-Western Balkans relations.
Every Sunday, The Balkan Voice Newsletter brings you an insider’s perspective on US policy toward the Western Balkans, featuring weekly coverage, State Department briefings, exclusive interviews, and more.
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