State Department Encourages Kosovo, Serbia to Extend Moratorium on Recognition Issues

State Department (Flickr.com/ Photo by: U.S. Department of State (IIP Bureau)

The U.S. Department of State has encouraged Kosovo and Serbia to extend a moratorium on the issues of recognition that complicate progress in technical areas, reads a reply from an unknown spokesperson to Voice of America's (VoA) question regarding the first anniversary of the so-called Washington Agreement.

A year ago, two versions of the 16-item document, for the Kosovo and Serbian sides, was signed at the Oval Office of the White House in the presence of former U.S. president Donald Trump, by incumbent Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and former Kosovo premier Avdullah Hoti - the two sides' chief political negotiators at the time, VoA reported on Sept. 3.

The unnamed State Department spokesperson specified in their reply to VoA that the U.S. would continue to cooperate with Serbia and Kosovo in the fulfillment of obligations, supporting, as they put it, the goal of comprehensive normalization of their relations.

The U.S. hopes that its partners will in good faith respect the obligations they took on in Washington last year. Numerous elements of the agreement support the priorities and the U.S.' broader vision of the region - energy diversification, regional connectivity, implementation of a moratorium on applying for membership in international organizations and on a campaign for withdrawing recognitions of Kosovo's independence, as well as finding and identifying missing persons, says the reply delivered to VoA from the State Department.

The reply also points out that the need for complete normalization is not time-limited, which is why Kosovo and Serbia are encouraged to build political trust through serious and essential participation in the EU-mediated dialogue.