U.S. Senior Official Visiting Western Balkans This Week

Counselor of the United States Department of State Derek Chollet (Photo: Wikipedia/U.S. State Department)

Counselor of the United States Department of State Derek Chollet is visiting the Western Balkans this week to discuss energy security, the region’s progress on the path to the European Union (EU) and the normalization dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

The State Department announced that from Dec. 12 to Dec. 17 Chollet would be touring Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Croatia and Belgium to underline the U.S.'s continuous commitment to peace, stability and the prosperity of the region.

The visit will start in Pristina, where he will be meeting with government officials and other political leaders to discuss on Dec. 12-13 the continuation of cooperation on a number of issues. The U.S. official will arrive in Belgrade on Dec. 13. He will discuss energy security, regional economic integration and Serbia’s EU accession with Serbian officials.

Chollet will be traveling to Sarajevo on Dec. 14. He will visit Skopje on the same day, and on Dec. 15 Chollet will travel to Podgorica and Zagreb. The U.S. foreign policy advisor will end his European tour in Brussels, where on Dec. 16 and Dec. 17 he will discuss with the U.S.'s partners in the EU and NATO a series of global issues, including continuous support to Ukraine, the EU accession process, and the integration of the Western Balkans in the Union, energy security, and the EU-mediated Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, the State Department released.