Costet remembers Pardew: Contributed to Balkan Peace Fight

Costett has said that during his years as diplomat and ambassador, James Pardew contributed greatly to the struggle for peace, security and stability in the Balkans.

His legacy will survive. Comfort his friends, family and loved ones,” said in a Facebook post.

Pardew, a former diplomat at US Presidential Administrations Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and an American military intelligence officer died last Wednesday.

He was the US negotiator for the Framework Agreement in Macedonia in 2001 and the special deputy adviser to the president and secretary of State for democracy in the Balkans during the Kosovo war.

He also represented the Secretary of Defence in the US negotiating team on the Dayton Peace Agreement and managed Bosnia and Herzegovina's 1996-1999 Training and Military Equipment Programme.

In 1997, then-President Bill Clinton appointed Pardew as the US representative for military stabilisation in the Balkans with the rank of ambassador to the State Department. It was Washington's co-ordinator for Kosovo's International Verification Mission. Following the NATO bombings, Pardew helped create American and international civilian presences in Kosovo, as well as the development of local government and security institutions.

Pardew was critical of Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq, calling him a Serbian nationalist who uses political means to get support for ethnic hatred, as Milosevic has done.

He has also criticised the policies of former US President Donald Trump and his former envoy Richard Green in relation to Kosovo, saying they are destroying the foundations of successful American politics in the region.

Pardew, who lived in Fairfax Station, was born in Memphis and grew up in Jonesborough, graduating from Netletton High School and the state University of Arkansas. After graduation, he spent 28 years as a military intelligence officer, reaching the colonel's rank.

President George W. Bush, a Republican, appointed Pardew US Ambassador to Bulgaria in 2002, in which the task served until 2005.