Bolton: Serbia can recognise Kosovo under new administration Trump

For former Council for National Security Donald Trump, John Bolton, the return of the American tycoon as president could pave the way for a mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia.

Bolton in an interview for A2 CNN said Trump could give a final solution to the situation if he starts to see the differences between Pristina and Belgrade as issues from which he can obtain credit and recognition.

I think this is possible. If he saw this as something he could take credit for, I think it would pay attention immediately. This is a very complex problem, and it usually doesn't attract it, but I think it will withdraw from security issues in Eastern Europe in general because of the war in Ukraine. Taking into account a series of destabilities, including Transnistarian Moldova, disputes over pipelines coming from Russia and natural gas to some Central and Eastern European countries, I think there will be concentrations in the region as a whole. This suggests to me that this is a good time to resolve old disputes as much. Therefore, an interest on Trump's part is not impossible, perhaps since the beginning of his”, Bolton said.

According to the former Trump adviser, the president's interest in situations carried from the past to the Balkans will follow through with the new administration, as happened in the first term.

“I think that the interest that emerged during Trump's first mandate to resolve the remaining disputes in the Balkans was a top priority. And it is even more important now, in the context of the war that continues in Ukraine”, Bolton said.

As for Kosovo's growing concern about the return of Trump and a possible involvement of Richard Green on the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue issue, Bolton said his former family's role remains unclear.

These are very important questions, and we just don't know it yet. Green's position never existed before. He wanted to become secretary of state during Trump's second administration. Of course, that did not happen. The relationship with Marco Rubio, who will be secretary of state, is very unclear. In fact, there's a lot of uncertainty about the roles and responsibilities of the State Department right now. Marco Rubio was confirmed by the Senate and sworn to be secretary of state. We may have some clarity soon. If the Kosovo-Serbia dispute is one of Greenell's priorities, it is difficult to say. But, as you mentioned, he had responsibility at the end of Trump's first term. I would say there can be no lasting peace between Kosovo and Serbia or anywhere else, if the parties involved do not seriously agree. Even if Grenelli is to be responsible for this issue and favours Serbia, it is important to understand that the effort to impose a solution on Kosovo or the other way around will simply not work”, Bolton underlined.