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05 September 2020Serbia and Kosovo open a new page in their history: the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vucic, and the Kosovar premier, Avdullah Hoti, have signed in the White House, under the auspices of Donald Trump, an economic agreement that should help solve one of the thorniest territorial conflicts of the Old Continent.   



"Serbia and Kosovo are committed to economic normalization," the US president announced from the Oval Office.

"There have been a lot of discussions and now there is a lot of love", "the economy can bring people together", he added.



After the normalization between the Emirates and Israel, the head of the White House, in the middle of the electoral campaign, also intends this possible diplomatic success.

"Nobody had tried before me", he boasted.     



Presented as a "historic" by Washington, where the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo have held talks since Thursday, the agreement does not, however, resolve a priori the profound political dispute between the two Balkan countries.

Belgrade refuses to recognize the independence proclaimed in 2008 by Kosovo after the war of the late nineties, which caused 13 thousand deaths.



Serbia is supported by its Russian and Chinese allies, while the Americans are among those who immediately recognized the new Kosovar state.

The Washington Summit, unusual in a process traditionally led by Europeans, officially aimed to exclusively promote "strengthening economic relations" between the two countries.

Political negotiations are expected to resume on Monday in Brussels, where Aleksandar Vucic and Avdullah Hoti will meet the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell. 



"I think the Europeans will be very happy," Richard Grenell, Donald Trump's envoy for these talks, told the press.

"Politics was at a standstill", "they were arguing about the same symbols, words, verbs, adjectives, it was a nightmare", he added.

Hence the American idea, according to him, of "starting from the economy so that politics derives from it".



"All the agreements concluded" in terms of infrastructures, in particular transport, "exceed one billion euros" and must be implemented "within a year", explained the Kosovar premier.

"We will have a common market, so no more surprises with customs duties", added the Serbian president, referring to the 100% tariffs imposed by Pristina two years ago on Serbian products.   



Although the American government had taken the initiative in ensuring that it wanted to leave aside any hint of political resolution, the crux of the recognition of Kosovo had nonetheless emerged.

Yesterday the Serbian delegation condemned "the enormous pressure" and rejected the formulation of the draft agreement submitted to the negotiators, which implied, according to Belgrade, "mutual recognition" between the two countries.



"There is no sign of a document that contains the recognition of Kosovo. Period", Aleksandar Vucic then insisted, assuring that the article eventually "disappeared" after his protests.

The two countries have agreed to "freeze" Kosovo's international campaign in favor of its integration into international organizations for one year and that of Belgrade to persuade the countries that have ratified the independence of its former province to "de-recognize" it.

It was the only political concession.     



However, Avdullah Hoti wanted to see "a great step towards the total normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia", and therefore a "historic" agreement.

The political surprise was instead Serbia's decision to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by July, while Kosovo agreed to establish diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.