Afrim Hoti: The Washington Agreement was one of the best we have had

Professor of International Relations Afrim Hoti told Kosovo Online that the Washington Agreement, signed on this day five years ago at the White House by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and former Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti, was one of the best agreements to date.

“I believe the Washington Agreement was one of the best we have had so far, apart from those signed by both countries in Brussels. We were not fortunate, because after the signing of the Washington Agreement President Trump was no longer in office. There was a change at the White House, and it seems that for

President Joe Biden’s Democrats this agreement was neither an objective nor a point of reference in relations between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. Now that President Trump is in his second term, I think the Washington Agreement could easily become one of the key points, if not the main point, of the political agenda, because the agreement is primarily about the economic perspective,” Hoti noted.

He pointed out, however, that the U.S. political leadership is currently more focused on other crises, namely ending the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“When this conflict is resolved, then the Washington Agreement can definitely serve as a reference for the normalization of relations between the two countries,” Hoti opined.

The Washington Agreement on the normalization of economic relations, witnessed by U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term, was signed by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and then–Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti, who each signed separate agreements with the American administration.