U.S. official: Pristina to revoke tariffs, Belgrade not to dismiss Kosovo aggressively

U.S. official: Pristina to revoke tariffs, Belgrade not to dismiss Kosovo aggressively

A United States official, Phillip Reeker, urged Pristina on March 4 to remove customs fees on imports from Serbia, appealing to Belgrade to focus on a strategic interest, "instead of aggressively dismissing Kosovo."

Reeker, soon to be a new Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs warned that Kosovo and Serbia "are at risk of missing the best chance in a generation" to resolve the dispute between them.

"Kosovo can't lose anything if it negotiates, but it risks everything if it doesn't," Reeker said, adding a comment that Pristina's relationship with Washington had been damaged already.

The U.S. official said that Belgrade, on the other hand, "harmed the atmosphere of compromise and progress in the dialogue...with a campaign encouraging states to withdraw their decision to recognize Kosovo, and block Kosovo's membership of international organizations."