Former U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Does not Expect Much from Grenell's Initiative

Cameron Manter (Beta/Milan Obradovic)

Former U.S. ambassador to Belgrade Cameron Munter has said that he does not put much stock in an imminent meeting between representatives of Belgrade in Pristina in Washington, and that it would be best if Americans and Europeans could work together to resolve Balkan issues.

Commenting on the initiative of Richard Grenell, the U.S. president's special envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina dialog, Munter told the Aug. 21 issue of the Danas daily that the White House viewed the meeting as an event in the U.S. presidential campaign and that it was unlikely to make any serious effort to follow through on strategic foreign-policy goals.

Asked about his take on the current political situation in Serbia, he said he had not visited Serbia this year, and so could only comment from afar.

It seems to me that there is a lot of tension in Serbia, which is what happens when you lack a healthy political climate amid a challenge like COVID-19, youth emigration and economic stagnation, Munter said.