Note by Selim Ibraimi- Germany is opposed to any change of borders between Serbia and Kosovo, but it is for an agreement that will facilitate the European path of both countries. Here is another approach from Berlin compared to that of 2018, when the German government rejected the idea of land swaps.

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President Hashim Thaçi as a political master with great ambitions arrived last year in Washington in an unfavorable atmosphere for the Balkans, but has managed to convince US diplomatic circles and the White House that the Serbia-Kosovo agreement will help stabilize Southeast Europe and the whole process would go in the interest of US long-term policy in the region.

While a senior Russian official in Tirana said the exchange of territories is an American idea. Though it remains unclear what the plan contains, the United States and the United Kingdom are the biggest supporters of this proposal, an idea that is said to stem from the Kosovo’s presidency circles.

  • The first phase of the information war did not go in favor of President Thaçi in Kosovo and the region, but it must be admitted that he managed to establish a consolidated circles and networks of influential officials in the Trump’s administration and the Department of State.
  • The second phase that has just taken shape is restoring confidence, developing formal negotiations and preparing the opinion on the ground for the territorial effects of the possible agreement.

Will Thaçi’s policy finally get the deserved award from Washington together with the benefits of full recognition of Kosovo and the normalization of relations between the two states? The dilemmas will continue until the opening of the new plan and maps that will define the future of the Balkans. (@CSSDMacedonia)

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(3/30/2019)