Kupchan: Congress is urging Trump to refocus U.S. attention on the Balkans

U.S. foreign policy expert Charles Kupchan of the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington has said that the U.S. Congress is seeking to bring the Western Balkans back into the focus of American foreign policy at a time when the region is facing instability and political deadlock.

Speaking to Euronews Albania, Kupchan said that the inclusion of Kosovo and Serbia in the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act is intended to exert constructive pressure on Pristina and Belgrade to make progress in the dialogue and overcome the current stalemate, while also calling for the formation of stable governments.

He emphasized that Congress is trying to encourage President Donald Trump and his administration to become more actively engaged in the region, at a time when a serious refocusing of U.S. attention on security issues in the Balkans is needed.

“Trump will try to add the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia to his list of achievements. We are seeing heightened U.S. concern following America’s withdrawal from the Serbia–Kosovo dialogue, as well as the prolonged absence of a government in Kosovo. The document encourages Albin Kurti to form a government as soon as possible after his election victory,” Kupchan explained.

He added that there are concerns about Kurti’s approach.

“The inclusion of Kosovo in this document is meant to encourage Pristina and Belgrade to move forward in the bilateral dialogue and overcome the deadlock. The document also calls on both countries to have stable governments. In Serbia, we have a destabilized situation; in Kosovo, we have been without a government for months. So it is time for both countries to move forward with the difficult work they face,” Kupchan noted.

According to him, in both chambers of Congress there are many officials who have spent significant time in the Balkans, which is why there is a draft specifically dedicated to the region.

“Previously, the Trump administration did not place much emphasis on the ‘European security’ aspect, unlike the Biden administration. This is an attempt by Congress to push the president and those around him, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, to take responsibility for this agenda. Trump himself has made several statements about Kosovo and Serbia, taking credit for preventing a war. Now Congress is calling on Trump to engage in the Balkans, because we are seeing a pullback and there is a need to refocus on issues in the Balkan region,” Kupchan said.