Expert: Economic Topics Important for Building Trust between Kosovo and Serbia

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By organizing a meeting of Kosovo and Serbia’s representatives in the White House, the U.S. is showing that it is dedicated to the Balkans’ stability and prosperity, Luke Coffey, an expert of the U.S. conservative Heritage Foundation told the Voice of America on Sept. 2.

 Coffey, who is an expert on the Balkans, pointed out that the U.S. thus demonstrates it awareness that the definite way to stability in the region lays in the normalization of relations among its countries and achieving economic progress.

 “This meeting is an achievement in itself. We have seen how difficult this can be, in view of the fact that the previous meeting was cancelled. I have no big expectations. I hope this will be one of the many future meetings in which the U.S. will closely cooperate with the European Union,” Coffey said.

 The expert expressed his belief that the main focus will be on economic matters. “The White House likes to deal with this topic and have it discussed. But I think it is not possible to organize a meeting of Kosovo and Serbia leaders at which the geopolitical situation in the Balkans will not be talked about or at least mentioned,” Coffey said and added that if an opportunity presents itself, other issues will also be addressed.

According to him, some of these matters concerning the normalization of relations between Serbia and Kosovo could be on a political and not an economic level.