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Officials and analysts assess that the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue remains under EU mediation, while US engagement is more limited.
Former President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, stated that during meetings with representatives of the United States administration, no one mentioned either the dialogue with Serbia or the Association of Serb-majority Municipalities (ZSO), while support for Kosovo's sovereignty was confirmed.
Analysts contacted by "Danas" say that this shows that American policy has not fundamentally changed, but that Serbia has delayed building serious political positions in Washington.
Relations between the US and Kosovo over the last year have not been the best, mainly due to the actions of Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who has undertaken policies to close Serbian institutions, as well as the clash with the Constitutional Court.
For this reason, the US suspended the strategic dialogue with Kosovo in 2025 and did not appoint an ambassador to Pristina.
Despite this, Osmani has emphasized efforts to improve relations with the US in the final months of her term, especially after participating in Trump's Peace Committee. She stated that she has worked "day and night" on relations with the Donald Trump administration.
"We believe that as a Presidency we have proven this, especially in relation to the Trump administration. We have worked day and night. A large part of our work has not been made public, however the result is this: a written guarantee, sealed by President Trump, that territorial integrity will not be violated," Osmani said, according to the Reporteri portal.
She added that the US strongly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo.
"From the beginning, it is emphasized that the US strongly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Kosovo. There is no dialogue with Serbia, no concessions, no ZSO anywhere. We have achieved this with a lot of work. Reaching a situation where the US does not request ZSO in any meeting, I believe is the greatest achievement," Osmani declared.
However, the State Department stated to "Kosovo Online" that the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia remains key to peace and stability, while EU-mediated dialogue is the path to progress.
Serbia delayed in building positions in Washington
The leader of the Serbian People's Movement, Milija Bisevac, told "Danas" that, although Osmani tries to show that he has built strong communication channels with certain circles in Washington, in reality American policy has not fundamentally changed.
He emphasized that for more than a year, the US has withdrawn a significant portion of its investment commitment, not only from Kosovo, but also from other regions, due to global priorities.
Bisevac also noted that no ambassadors have been appointed to either Belgrade or Pristina for a long time, which shows that the region is not at the top of American foreign policy priorities.
According to him, this shows that Washington is more focused on other global crises, while relations between Serbia and Kosovo are treated within the framework of regional stability, but without an intensified commitment as in previous periods.
He added that Serbia has lagged behind in building stronger political positions in Washington, which is also reflected in the way Serbian officials have been received in the American capital.
Commenting on Osman's statement about the lack of mention of the ZSO, Bisevac said that the US currently does not want to be directly involved in this process, but has largely left it to the European Union.
He stressed that the EU-mediated dialogue remains the main mechanism for resolving this issue and that Osmani's statements could also be interpreted as part of her internal political campaign.
Neither the Association nor Kosovo are topics for the US
The founder of the Kosovo Alliance, Zarko Ristic, stated to "Danas" that the Kosovo issue has long since ceased to be a top-level topic in international relations.
According to him, the return of this topic is related to Vjosa Osmani's political needs and her situation on the political scene.
He stressed that currently the main issue is whether and to what extent there is a connection with the Donald Trump administration.
"I agree that ZSO is not a topic, but as I said, the whole of Kosovo is not a topic either. This is a moment that we should all use to reconfigure our positions in the eyes of Donald Trump, and this is what we are working on," said Ristic.
He added that the Serbian diaspora in the coming weeks will contribute to improving the position of Serbs in Kosovo through ties with the US administration.
Ristic also criticized the concept of ZSO, calling it a topic imposed by the authorities in Belgrade.
Finally, he emphasized that in the coming period, work will be done to strengthen the ties of the Serbian diaspora in the US with Serbs in the region, as a step towards concretizing its political influence. /Adapted from Pamphlet /
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