The United States envoy for the Western Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, will visit Pristina this week to discuss the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia with Kosovo government leaders, as well as the banned Serbian dinar in Kosovo, the US State Department announced on Sunday.
Escobar will visit Belgium, Kosovo, Austria, and Montenegro from March 10 to 18, 2024, according to the announcement.
“His visit will reaffirm the United States’ commitment to the Western Balkans countries, which aim for Euro-Atlantic integration and deeper regional cooperation,” the State Department said.
Escobar’s visit to Kosovo comes at a time when relations between American officials and the Kosovo government appear tense due to the issue of the Serbian dinar, which the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) banned through a regulation last month.
Last month, Escobar said that the Kosovo government is not treating the US as a partner, due to its failure to heed the American request regarding the Serbian dinar issue.
“We are very concerned because the Kosovo government is not treating us as a partner, they are not working with us for regional stability, and they are undermining dialogue, a process to which the US is fully committed,” Escobar said on February 23.
The US has requested the postponement of the implementation of this decision, arguing that it was approved without prior consultation and without considering the negative impacts on the Serbian community in Kosovo, which uses Serbia’s national currency.
The State Department said that the American envoy will also meet with civil society and the Serbian community in Kosovo, in addition to government officials.
“He will also hold meetings regarding the impact of the new regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo on cash payments and to call for steps to meet the needs of Kosovo citizens without hindrance,” the statement said.
The regulation of the Central Bank of Kosovo, which stipulates that only the euro can be used for cash payments, began to be implemented on February 1.
The Serbian state allocates millions of euros to Serbs in Kosovo after paying them in dinars – through a parallel system – salaries, pensions, and additional aid.
The regulation has been criticized by the European Union.
On March 4, the US ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, and the head of the European Union Office in Kosovo, Tomáš Szunyog, called on Kosovo to fulfill the agreements reached in the dialogue with Serbia, if it wants to join the EU and NATO.
“The international community wants Kosovo to progress on the European path, we have created the conditions to achieve this, and the only way is through dialogue mediated by the EU… We hope to see efforts to move forward,” Hovenier said.
With EU mediation, Kosovo and Serbia reached the Agreement on the Normalization of Relations on February 27, 2023.
The normalization agreement, consisting of 11 points, also provides for a level of self-management for the Serbian community in Kosovo and mutual recognition of state symbols, while requiring Pristina and Belgrade to implement all previous agreements reached during the dialogue.
The EU has said that the agreement, although not signed, is binding on the parties. It has not yet begun to be implemented.
Meanwhile, in Belgium, Escobar will meet with EU envoy Miroslav Lajčák and European and NATO officials to discuss “efforts to advance reforms that will bring long-term prosperity, stability, and peace to the Western Balkans region,” the statement said.
