Palmer tomorrow in Belgrade to talk about Kosovo

Palmer will hold separate meetings with Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq and Prime Minister Ana Brnabiq.

According to Serbian media, the main theme of these meetings will be Kosovo, broadcasts news.net.

According to reports, Palmer, tomorrow in Serbia is expected to bring a revised position of the United States on Kosovo, or will the same “history” be repeated after meeting with Serbia's state summit?

From the determined position of the United States that the Kosovo issue was resolved in 2008, with Kosovo's declaration of independence, much has changed so far.

US officials' statements in recent months have shown that Washington's position on Serbia is changing, which is now ready to support any Belgrade-Pristina agreement that is acceptable to both sides.

This is supported by Palmer's recent statement, which said that the United States does not draw red lines into the dialogue process about what both sides would talk about, but that does not mean that all options are open.

For the moment we are more interested in bringing both sides back to the negotiating table, renewing dialogue and progressing on that agreement, step by step. I don't think setting artificial terms would help in this process, but we would like to continue negotiations as soon as possible”, Palmer had declared in an interview for the Voice of America, which had stressed the need for Belgrade and Pristina to return to the negotiating table.

However, according to political affairs connoisseurs in Serbia, tomorrow's meeting will not bring any innovation.

Serbian career diplomat Zoran Milivojevic says tomorrow's meeting will not bring any innovation or revolution, as he put it, the US position on the Kosovo issue has not changed.

I repeat the position of President Trump's administration, that they are interested in the solution, that there are no red lines, that let both sides agree. We must expect nothing exclusive. Nothing will change except to reiterate the need to restore dialogue and, in a way, require double standards to be constructive and to make some efforts, although I don't know what kind of efforts Serbia” can make, Millivoyevic told Serbian Telegraph, broadcast the news further.net.

According to him, setting the tax on Kosovo's part for Serbian and Bosnian goods has made Serbia's position difficult and there is no chance that Serbia will move from this position. According to him, the only solution for continuing dialogue is to lift the tax and that Kosovo, as he put it, should implement the agreements reached in Brussels, including the establishment of the Serb majority communities' association.

According to Millivojevic, America's position on Kosovo is clear and that the US would simply pressure Serbia for recognising Kosovo's independence.

America has a huge impact on Pristina. The US ambassador's statements to Pristina that Kosovo is an independent state making its own decisions and that America does not influence them is not accurate. Simply, Americans in this way pressure Serbia to recognise independence”, he said, broadcast the news further.net.

Palmer's visit to Serbia during tomorrow comes shortly before the Paris Summit, which will be held on July 1st, and the main topic is finding a solution between Kosovo and Serbia.

We remember that Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer, with Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq, had also met in October last year.

After this meeting, it was said that America supports the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue to reach an agreement that would lead to a full normalisation of relations and that Washington was committed to Serbia's progress towards membership in the European Union.

That Serbia should recognise Kosovo's independence, American President Donald Trump had also requested.

In the letter US President Trump had sent to his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vuciq, in the case of the Republic of Serbia's Day, in addition to congratulations, Trump had asked Vuciqi as soon as a deal with Kosovo is reached, which according to him must be mutually recognised.