Former President Obama's assistant: Kosovo-Serbia deal removes Russian influence, but not overnight

President Obama's former aide, Professor Charles Kupchan, has commented on the dialogue process, saying his epilogue removes Russia's influence in the Balkans on Monday. But he says it doesn't happen overnight.

“The gradual resolution of open issues between Kosovo and Serbia, as well as the final agreement, in my opinion, will be an important step forward in limiting and finally removing Russia's betting and influence in the region. But, to be realistic, it's not going to happen overnight, it's a process that will last”, he told Voice of America.

Kupchan, who spent part of his career in charge of European affairs with the National Security Council during Barack Obama's mandate, says Kosovo dialogue mediators- Serbia is not favouring either side currently.

I don't have the feeling that the European Union and the US are giving any kind of primacy to one of the parties at the moment. I am sure that they strongly want the job to be completed and out of the period in which relations between Kosovo and Serbia and instability in Bosnia and Herzegovina made the Balkans the centre of attention”.

He says that even though the two powers -- the US and the EU -- are focused on Ukraine, they want to achieve the goal even in normalising relations between the two Balkan neighbours.

Despite the fact that the US and the EU are mainly preoccupied with fighting in Ukraine, their common aspirations are to do everything necessary for both sides to achieve the goal when it comes to normalising their” relations.

Kupchan served as US President Obama's special assistant from 2014-2017.