Grenell: Kosovo needs to handle rule of law internally, not outsource to the Hague

English

Gazeta Express

10/12/2020 14:07

Former US Ambassador to Berlin and President Donald Trump’s envoy for Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, on Tuesday, held an online conversation with the Centre for International Relations and Politics within the Institute for Politics and Strategy (IPS), said that Kosovo should be able to handle its own court system, so he says the rule of law needs to be handled internally, not, for example, outsourced to the Hague.

Grenell also elaborated that the problem includes a “perceived conflict,” adding that the US should reconsider the placement of the more than 600 troops currently in Kosovo and move the region away from an “international emergency room situation,” according to The Tartan.

In his conversation Grenell revealed details on his mediation of Kosovo and Serbia talks. Grenell shared that since he was very close to President Trump and the Secretary of State, both sides had reached out to him and expressed a desire for “high-level attention” during their negotiations. According to Grenell, both sides discussed future growth and economic development, in particular a frustration that there is not a focus on developing the region.

The negotiations were tough, Grenell shared, since even addressing the two sides was controversial. However, three agreements on air, railway, and motor travel were signed at the Munich Security Conference last winter. This is, he says, a good basis for getting larger agreements like the Economic Normalization Agreement reached in September 2020 in the White House, which needs the US government to “dig deep on funding.”

He reiterated that first land swaps between Kosovo and Serbia were never discussed, and second, both sides agreed to diversify their energy sources.

The question-and-answer portion started off with Post-Doctoral Fellow Daniel Silverman’s inquiry regarding the greater issues at stake here, and where the Serbia-Kosovo relationship fits in a broader context. After emphasizing that Kosovo and Serbia could be greater allies for the US, Grenell brought the audience’s attention to their autonomy. For example, Grenell is “a believer that both Serbia and Kosovo should be able to handle their own court systems,” so he says the rule of law needs to be handled internally, not, for example, outsourced to the Hague. Grenell says this would help political dynamics and save money, noting that the US has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on international courts. Accordingly, the US will continue to mentor judges and run bilateral programs in both Serbia and Kosovo to make sure that the two are governing under their own rule of law. /GazetaExpress/