President Donald Trump announced Friday that Serbia and Kosovo have agreed to normalize economic ties as part of U.S.-brokered talks that include Belgrade moving its Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, and mutual recognition between Israel and Kosovo. After two days of meetings with Trump administration officials, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti agreed to cooperate on a range of economic fronts to attract investment and create jobs. The announcement provided Trump with a diplomatic win ahead of the November presidential election and furthers his administration’s push to improve Israel’s international standing. “I’m pleased to announce a truly historic commitment,” Trump said in the Oval Office, standing alongside the two leaders. “Serbia and Kosovo have each committed to economic normalization.” “After a violent and tragic history and years of failed negotiations, my administration proposed a new way of bridging the divide. By focusing on job creation and economic growth, the two countries were able to reach a major breakthrough,” the president said. Trump said Serbia has committed to open a commercial office in Jerusalem this month and move its embassy there in July. Serbia’s decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is a nod to both Israel and the United States. The Trump administration recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in late 2017 and moved the U.S. embassy there in May 2018. Until now, Kosovo, a predominantly Muslim country, has never before recognized Israel nor has Israel recognized Kosovo. Just announced in the Oval Office: Kosovo, a Muslim nation, to normalize its relations with Israel and Serbia to move its embassy to Jerusalem. Congratulations to POTUS and my colleagues on another massive diplomatic achievement. Shabbat Shalom! — David M. Friedman (@USAmbIsrael) September 4, 2020 Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu thanked the president of Serbia for moving the embassy to Jerusalem. He confirmed that Israel and Kosovo will establish diplomatic relations and said Pristina also will open its embassy in Jerusalem. “Kosovo will be the first majority-Muslim country to open an embassy in Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said. “As I’ve said in recent days, the circle of peace and recognition of Israeli is widening and is expected to add additional countries.” Congratulations to the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo on today’s historic agreement. We reaffirm our support for ongoing Serbia-Kosovo negotiations, and we welcome Kosovo’s normalization of ties with Israel, while commending Serbia for committing to move its Embassy to Jerusalem. — Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) September 4, 2020 In all, a total of four countries now recognize contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, including the U.S. and Guatemala. The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war, as their would-be capital. The gestures to Israel are part of the Trump administration’s push to support the Jewish state, which has included forceful denunciations of criticism of Israel at the United Nations and in other international venues. Most recently, the administration brokered a deal for Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalize relations. That was followed by the first commercial flight between Israel and the UAE, with neighboring Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to allow such flights to pass through their airspace. Additional Arab states, including Sudan, Bahrain and Oman, have been identified as countries that might also normalize relations with Israel. Kosovo’s Parliament declared independence from Serbia in […]
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