Serbia After the Meeting in Washington

Signing ceremony in the Oval Office (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

A New Step Toward the West

Through the agreement signed in Washington last week, Serbia has taken a step toward ending its energy dependence on Russia and pledged to make restrictions where Chinese technology is concerned. The meeting had been scheduled for a discussion of Serbia–Kosovo relations. These two details, which at first glance have nothing to do with those relations, are the most important part of the whole story. Given that at the U.N. Security Council Russia and China defend Resolution 1244, which does not define Kosovo as an independent state, and because of that expect (and have so far had) Serbia’s favor, the items that are to the detriment of Moscow and Beijing undermine the importance of both the aforementioned resolution and the future of Serbia’s relations with these two Security Council members