{"id":6857,"date":"2023-05-08T15:56:38","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T14:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=6857"},"modified":"2023-05-08T16:05:38","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T15:05:38","slug":"usaid-chief-power-visits-serbia-and-kosovo-to-defuse-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/diplomatic-world\/usaid-chief-power-visits-serbia-and-kosovo-to-defuse-tensions\/2023\/05\/08\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"USAID Chief Power Visits Serbia and Kosovo to Defuse Tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON<\/span> (AFP)<\/span> –<\/span>\u00a0The<\/span> U.S.<\/span> chief<\/span> international<\/span> development<\/span> officer<\/span> has<\/span> stepped<\/span> up<\/span> as<\/span> U.S.<\/span> and<\/span> European<\/span> leaders<\/span> work<\/span> to<\/span> strengthen<\/span> ties<\/span> between<\/span> two<\/span> former<\/span> warring<\/span> enemies<\/span> to<\/span> stabilize<\/span> rising<\/span> tensions.<\/span> Samantha<\/span> Power<\/span> will<\/span> travel<\/span> to<\/span> Serbia<\/span> and<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> this<\/span> week<\/span> to<\/span> meet<\/span> with<\/span> leaders<\/span> there.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Mr.<\/span> Power<\/span> was<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> U.S.<\/span> Agency<\/span> for<\/span> International<\/span> Development<\/span> Director<\/span> to<\/span> visit<\/span> Serbia,<\/span> which<\/span> has<\/span> close<\/span> historical<\/span> and<\/span> cultural<\/span> ties<\/span> to<\/span> Russia.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Relations<\/span> between<\/span> Serbia<\/span> and<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> have<\/span> often<\/span> been<\/span> hostile<\/span> since<\/span> Kosovo’s<\/span> separation<\/span> from<\/span> Serbia<\/span> in<\/span> her<\/span> 1990s<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> end<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Cold<\/span> War.<\/span> Since<\/span> Russia<\/span> invaded<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> last<\/span> year,<\/span> tensions<\/span> between<\/span> Serbia<\/span> and<\/span> Kosovo,<\/span> with<\/span> Albanians<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> majority<\/span> and<\/span> Serbs<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> minority,<\/span> have<\/span> recovered<\/span> in<\/span> general.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Its<\/span> power<\/span> lies<\/span> in<\/span> meeting<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> prime<\/span> ministers<\/span> and<\/span> presidents<\/span> of<\/span> both<\/span> countries<\/span> and<\/span> encouraging<\/span> them<\/span> to<\/span> continue<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> path<\/span> of<\/span> normalizing<\/span> relations<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> two<\/span> countries<\/span> and<\/span> to<\/span> make<\/span> further<\/span> progress<\/span> towards<\/span> joining<\/span> the<\/span> European<\/span> Union.<\/span> “USAID<\/span> underscores<\/span> its<\/span> support<\/span> for<\/span> Serbia’s<\/span> path<\/span> to<\/span> EU<\/span> membership<\/span> through<\/span> partnerships<\/span> to<\/span> promote<\/span> economic<\/span> growth<\/span> and<\/span> democratic<\/span> development,”<\/span> USAID<\/span> said<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> statement.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Power<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> senior<\/span> US<\/span> official<\/span> to<\/span> visit<\/span> the<\/span> region<\/span> since<\/span> the<\/span> European<\/span> Union<\/span> brokered<\/span> a<\/span> meeting<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> two<\/span> leaders<\/span> in<\/span> Brussels<\/span> last<\/span> week,<\/span> urging<\/span> them<\/span> to<\/span> resume<\/span> peaceful<\/span> dialogue.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> EU<\/span> has<\/span> spent<\/span> 12<\/span> years,<\/span> he<\/span> said,<\/span> facilitating<\/span> negotiations<\/span> between<\/span> Serbia<\/span> and<\/span> Kosovo.<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> declared<\/span> her<\/span> independence<\/span> in<\/span> 2008,<\/span> but<\/span> Serbia<\/span> does<\/span> not<\/span> recognize<\/span> it<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> nation.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Brussels<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> US<\/span> have<\/span> intervened<\/span> frequently<\/span> to<\/span> ease<\/span> tensions<\/span> between<\/span> the<\/span> two<\/span> capitals,<\/span> especially<\/span> since<\/span> Russia<\/span> attacked<\/span> Ukraine.<\/span> The<\/span> war<\/span> in<\/span> Kosovo<\/span> erupted<\/span> when<\/span> separatist<\/span> Albanians<\/span> rebelled<\/span> against<\/span> Serbian<\/span> rule,<\/span> and<\/span> Serbia<\/span> responded<\/span> with<\/span> a<\/span> brutal<\/span> crackdown<\/span> that<\/span> killed<\/span> about<\/span> 13,000<\/span> people,<\/span> mostly<\/span> Albanians.<\/span> NATO<\/span> military<\/span> intervention<\/span> eventually<\/span> forced<\/span> Serbia<\/span> to<\/span> withdraw<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> territory.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Mr.<\/span> Power<\/span> will<\/span> also<\/span> meet<\/span> with<\/span> Serbian<\/span> and<\/span> Kosovar<\/span> civil<\/span> society<\/span> members,<\/span> business<\/span> leaders,<\/span> journalists<\/span> and<\/span> others.<\/span> Among<\/span> them<\/span> are<\/span> Serbian<\/span> former<\/span> NBA<\/span> player<\/span> Vladhe<\/span> Divac<\/span> and<\/span> athletes<\/span> with<\/span> disabilities.<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON (AFP) –\u00a0The U.S. chief international development officer has stepped up as U.S. and European leaders work to strengthen ties between two former warring enemies to stabilize rising tensions. Samantha Power will travel to Serbia and Kosovo this week to meet with leaders there. Mr. Power was the first U.S. Agency for International Development Director […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[24,26,276],"tags":[4814,602,603,608,4806,4807,4808,4809,4810,4811,4812,4813],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/download-4.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6857"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6857"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6857\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6860,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6857\/revisions\/6860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6857"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6857"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6857"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}