Donic: The New U.S. Administration will seek any solution to the Kosovo issue through pressure

Petar Donić
Source: Kosovo Online

We can expect continuity in traditional U.S. foreign policy, with the new administration led by Donald Trump exerting pressure to resolve the Kosovo issue in any way possible while simultaneously developing good relations with both Serbia and Kosovo, Petar Donic from New Third Way stated for Kosovo Online.

"We can expect a continuation of U.S. foreign policy in the traditional sense. Now, during Biden’s last term and Trump’s tenure, America, for the first time in a long while, expressed a desire and showed initiative to improve relations with Serbia. This would inevitably imply some form of resolution to the Kosovo issue. What exactly will happen remains unpredictable," Donic said. According to him, Trump will attempt to resolve the Kosovo issue through pressure, by any means necessary.

"During Trump’s administration, there were speculations about an alternative plan on the table, different from the current Franco-German one. I believe this administration will exert pressure to resolve the Kosovo issue in any way while simultaneously fostering relations with Serbia. In some ways, this reflects continuity in Kosovo policy, in the sense of playing on multiple fronts at once," Donic emphasized.

Commenting on the nominations for key positions in the U.S. administration so far, Donic highlighted two main aspects.

"He has prioritized establishment candidates from the Republican Party, primarily neoconservatives. The interpretation is that he did this to gain internal support and send a message of stability. Now, there are new candidates, more in the vein of fresh faces. He has left their appointments for later, with a few nominations being closely scrutinized for their potential roles," Donic explained.

He added that some candidates, such as Marco Rubio, who previously held positions unfavorable to Serbia, will likely adopt a softer tone.

"Rubio will certainly maintain his positions rooted in the 1990s, but it is speculated that his approach will likely be milder since Trump has brought some changes to the Republican Party. These changes are not insignificant; he has imposed his agenda and aims to bring about transformation. Trump is not an establishment candidate, and he has altered the character and nature of the Republican Party, steering it more towards a populist direction. However, Trump also faces a challenge. He has had one term and now a second, but his time on the political scene has been relatively short, and he hasn’t been able to change the Republican Party’s nature significantly," Donic noted.

He concluded that the selection of candidates indicates that U.S. foreign policy will not change its key positions on Kosovo.

"The choice of hardliners at the forefront of the Republican Party suggests that we won’t see familiar faces from the previous term, when the Ukrainian crisis hadn’t yet emerged, focusing more intensely on this region. They are now in different roles. We can conclude that the policy towards Serbia and Kosovo will continue in the direction that Serbia must recognize Kosovo in one way or another," Donic emphasized.