Grenelli says he's writing a book on Kosovo- Serbia to elaborate unknown details

For the first time, former special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo Richard Green reveals the internal work of the historic Serbia-Kosovo Economic Normalisation Agreement. Green shares new details about the Benden and Trump administration, which he believes are essential to the creation of sustainable American policies.

Richard Green's view of bringing the Western Balkans forward and closer to the US is necessary. The former special presidential envoy for peace talks in Serbia and Kosovo, Grenelli, played a key role in enabling the Serbia-Kosovo 2020 Economic Normalisation Agreement in Washington.

“Focusing on job creation and economic growth, the two countries were able to achieve great progress”, Trump said at the official ceremony at the Oval Office at the time, in the presence of members of his cabinet, Serbian President Vuciq and Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti.

Grenelli tells me she's writing a book on this subject, among other things, and she's still out of the question.

I think everybody knows the story well, but what, surprisingly, many Americans don't understand is that progress has been made over the past 20 years. We are at a truly different point, another relationship between the US and Kosovo and the US and Serbia, the US and Albania, the US and the Balkan countries in general. It's important not to get stuck in the past, but to let, I'd say, not only reconciliation, but also a reevaluation of what's going on. ”

According to Richard Green, this was the foundation of Trump's approach and Grenelli to this issue, which he would call the Kosovo-Serbia <x0ndroperchi”, the Express broadcast.

“NGOs in Washington, DC and all those who think they're really smart, and all the State Department people have been working on this issue for 20 years. In Washington, DC, that means they're an expert on this matter”, Yerenelli says. But in the rest of America, if they failed, they failed to make progress. So why do we keep doing the same thing for 20 years? I have to say that it's really embarrassing how much money and attention are paid to think groups in Washington, DC, which exist to write letters and talk about cases, but very few experts have ever done anything on these issues, says Yerenelli.

“There is a big difference,”, he continued, “both thinking and talking about a matter and then actually experiencing through diplomacy.” The former special envoy believes that, “there is no other issue better than the Balkan issue and Kosovo-Serbia dialogue to highlight the madness of the NGO community in Washington, DC, which is completely out of touch and lives 20 years ago. ”

When Grenelli intervened to see if there was anything he could do to further the Western Balkans, Trump's administration was very clear that, economically, there was a lot to be done.

“If we were just planning meetings, first of all, setting a meeting is not progress, is it? Having a meeting one week from Tuesday is not progress. This is a tactic. A tactic of trying to solve problems is the appointment of meetings. But in Washington, DC, the appointment of a meeting or schedule in Brussels was somehow seen as progress, and I never saw it that way”, he added.

I expected people to get together and talk because that meant you cared about the matter and were interested in the problems. But then, once you get to the table, I won't applaud you for coming to the table. I'd say I expect you to look forward and not get stuck in the past”, it was set Green. And many people want to sit down and talk about words and political statements, and we would negotiate verbs and names. This, for me, is meaningless, and for the American people and the people of the Balkans and people outside the capitals”, he said, “is crazy. It's a waste of time. ”

What Green was able to observe during the conversation with both sides involved in the negotiations on the Kosovo-Serbia Economic Normalisation Agreement was that “there was a desire to create jobs for young people and move on and that we had to do this outside every political conversation. So I just entered and really focused on opening up trade boundaries. ”

One of the newest and innovative parts of the Kosovo agreement- Serbia was that, throughout the year 2021, the US administration was able to establish recognition and non-recognition campaigns for territorial conflict and instead focus on increasing jobs and job creation, Yerenelli says.

Green went on, the <x0D, which I was very proud of and worked very hard and we reached a deal, but we have not yet been able to apply it mainly because of COVID, but now, because of the Biden administration, they are not moving ahead of the historic flights between Pristina and Belgrade”, Grenelli divided with his obvious disappointment. The business community wants this. They're asking. This is what they need to move forward with job creation and the opening of new industries. This should be the priority. I really urge all parties to admit there is a solution there. And it will simply take leadership to continue and not allow small issues to become major issues. ”

Recently, Greenell said he believes Secretary Blinken will not produce results for the Western Balkans and the Serbia-Kosovo issue. Why does he think that?

The reason I think Blinken won't be able to deliver results is that he has already shown that he has chosen a side. He has no credibility with both sides”, Grenelli said. “I am someone who has been applauded and criticised by both sides [Serbs and Albanians]. I am very pleased with the progress we have made. I have supporters and opponents on both sides of the issue and I see it's a very comfortable place. ”

During Grenelli's recent trip to the Western Balkan region, President Trump issued a statement acknowledging Green's role in brokering the Serbia-Kosovo Economic Normalisation Agreement and said he thought not only that the agreement should be maintained but that it should not be abandoned and so easily dropped.

The only thing I'm going to say is that the response to President Trump's statement when I went to press ahead of the economic agreement were the typical stupid arguments of Washington”, it was cut off, Green. “People need to understand what they were attacking. President Trump used his tongue to call me, basically, just a former envoy and ambassador. Both titles are absolutely true. That's what I was. He referred to me in two titles. Yet, there was this collective folly of Washington's guys, who said “ai created the title of Ambassador-in-law”. No. He was actually doing, just in the stenography, calling me my two titles,”, said Grenelli. He went on, “What if he had said, the principal's task counsel, the ambassador's envoy? I mean, this is Washington's stupid game. You'll notice that no one with real substance attacked what I said, which is, let's move forward in those economic agreements. They couldn't attack the substance they had to attack the headlines because Washington's game is that you just played these political games and attack you. You never try to move the matter forward. ”

But let me be clear about one thing”, Green insisted.

Benden's “Administrator is worth”, he said. “Somebody within the Biden administration decided after reading four economic agreements to say: These are good. And they lead us forward. And this should be part of the US policy that the Benden administration is pushing forward. ) They've fully embraced these economic agreements because someone looked at them and said: These are good. Now, most people in the Benden administration, including the anonymous press at the White House, lost the moment to push ahead on this issue and instead immediately attacked President Trump”, Yerenel adds, revealing a fundamental breach in today's political landscape. “This is the kind of madness that the American people refuse and think is a typical conversation in Washington. But the reality is that I was there, pushing ahead the policy of the Biden administration and the administration's policy Trump, because both administrations believe economic agreements are good. ”

At the time of Grenelli's improvised press conference at the Merdare border point, many people rushed on Twitter to attack his trip to Tirana, Pristina and Belgrade. You had this crazy doll in Washington, who immediately said: “Ah, it's a violation of...”

Act Logan.

“Yes, Logan,” confirmed Green. Because, you know, I was there. And I said: “listen, fool. Why would you say that? These people, they talk first and think later. And it's pointless”, Green said. The reality is that we have made a lot of progress because we have ignored all these political things. We did that and this is an important point we did because both sides asked us to. At that time, both sides said that we should stop such senseless political things, and can we make some sort of progress? And I think Americans are the best partner to do this, to look forward and say: “Hey, how do we create jobs? How do we get a better solution?

Grenelli recalled that this was one of the things he repeatedly told both sides during negotiations on economic normalisation.

“There is a conflict perceived by the outside of”, divided the Green view. “But business in Europe and businesses in America we haven't been able to agree and tell people that, military conflict and dialogue and subsequent fighting, all of this is over and we have to move forward, in some way, increasing economies”, he said. “The Serbian economy is flourishing,” he continued.

Sharing for the first time the internal work of the Agreement negotiations, Grenelli said: “I felt as one of the difficult points of discussion of the agreement and I will say this, difficult for the Serbian side and less for Kosovo. But one of the points I felt so strongly about and, as a result, we had a lot of push on me and many discussions that were not always nice for both sides, was about the diversification of energy, as it was important to America. Because remember, 100% of Serbian energy comes from Russia. And we felt like it was important to grow up and become different. After all, this is the US European policy of diversifying their energy. And we just think that this is a good principle for all, including the United States”, he said.

“We should not have excessive support in a country or an energy form. It's just not safe. You must have different forms of energy. We always call it the strategy of all the higher, a little renewable energy, a little traditional energy, and if it comes from different regions and different countries, and not just one. That was a big point, that point of discussion,” said Grenelli. “I felt that President Vucic was, after all, too brave to know this and to move forward”, he told the Serbian president.

Grenelli found that during the negotiations there were several <x0 points that were most difficult for the Kosovo side. And then there were some points that were difficult for both sides”. The main component, according to Green, was that the US “heard and adjusted a portion of the language and tried hard to focus on the economy”.

One rule that Grenelli had for both sides was that he would never ask Serbs and Kosovo Albanians to do something political, but “only required them to do things that lead us forward in a way that we create jobs for young people and create a better economy for the region. So connected with money in the workplace and the growth of the economy that I would push it hard. I would leave political rhetoric because I felt as if we were trying political rhetoric for 20 years and we didn't really make much progress. ”

This year marks 140 years of Serbia- USA. Recently, Grenelli attended a diplomatic dinner held by Serbian Ambassador Marko Djuric for members of Congress. Is Grenelli satisfied with the current state of affairs in the context of deepening bilateral relations?

I'm never completely satisfied. I always want to increase the level to do more”, he said. I think Serbia should continue on its energy diversification path, leaving Russia and China. He added, “We want to be a closer partner with Serbia. We understand that if we are to ask Serbs to diversify their energy sources, we should be prepared to move forward and help, and Europe should also help. It's not just about America, it's about different regions. Again, what we believe the Serbian government must do is diversify its energy. We are not asking for this to come only from the United States. We are not asking for him to come from somewhere or any single source. We think the best way to move forward is diversification and I think Serbs have said that this is their goal, but we still have to make more progress. We're not there yet. ”

Last year, The DFC opened its headquarters in Belgrade, but since Biden came into office, not much has been done. Green was asked what the DFC's future is in Belgrade.

This is very disappointing, and we talked about it during this dinner,” said Greenell. “The opening of the DFC office in Serbia was historic, it was necessary and it was something that American politicians of all parties had to support because it was something that would help coordinate these economic agreements and leave Russia and China. It's how the United States has a closer relationship with the region and, for some reason, the Biden team has not followed and continued that policy, and it is shameful. You're not helping America. They're missing a chance. And I hope people in the State Department understand this at some point. ”

Now that he has visited Pristina and Belgrade for prolonged stays, Grenelli has returned fully convinced that, “people and politicians are all hungry for economic normalisation”. The region is still struggling with brain drain, and many young people want to emigrate in search of better opportunities.

“People are frustrated that they are unable to increase businesses and expand their economy. And they want to see their communities create bigger and paid jobs, which will allow families to grow and people to stay in the region. And so hunger is still there. And I think waiting was the normalisation agreement. The normalisation agreements set up a reception to make progress. And I really want the American government to push harder into this progress, because people are hungry for it and I think it can be well received. I think it would be a really good policy for the United States. ”

First Lady Melanie Trump has grown up in the former Yugoslavia before coming to the United States of America, but until now she has never been heard talking about the Kosovo-Serbia Agreement issue. Did Melanie ever share with Greenell if she thought the deal was good, given her personal relationship with the region? Green answered with exclusive news.

The only thing I'm going to say is that Melanie Trump is one of the biggest supporters of economic agreements”, said Grenelli.

This is a complicated question. You're wondering why people don't embrace the republican successes more. You know, these are complex answers, media and system and everything. But I'll say Ronald Reagan taught the Republicans how to appeal to the working class, to normal people, to working class voters, and we lost after he left the job, we really lost our way. There were several Republican administrations that really didn't fight for working class people, and Donald Trump did this. He brought it, and I think people realize Donald Trump wasn't fighting for Wall Street or rich people. He was fighting for ordinary Americans and we Republicans have to remember this. They must keep it as their mantra. Otherwise, they will never win again. ”

Since the end of 2021 marks the completion of the first year of Beden on duty at the White House and the holiday season is approaching, Grenelli has a warning message for Americans.

Stop the vote for radical policies that cause chaos at the border and the economy on the gas pump. When you vote for politicians with terrible ideas and radical ideas, such as opening the border or closing the power supply, you cannot later complain that we have problems with illegal immigrants or problems with high gas prices you voted for policies that create chaos”, Grenelli said, returning responsibility to the citizens of America with the power to vote.