Nedeljkovic: O'Brien is focused on regional economic integration

Stevan Nedeljkovic, an associate professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences in Belgrade, says for Kosovo Online that the appointment of James O'Brien as the Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia is a signal that the United States is increasingly focusing on this region, seeing it as a potential source of a new hot spot. He also says that O'Brien's new engagement is good news because he is focused on regional economic integration, something that Serbia has particularly emphasized in recent years.

"The information about the appointment of Jim O'Brien brings, in my opinion, one piece of good news and one piece of bad news for Serbia. The good news is that, based on everything we have read and heard about his past, O'Brien is very focused on regional economic integration, which Serbia has been emphasizing, especially in recent years. The bad news is that he is quite focused on crime and corruption, which is not good news for the political elites in the Western Balkans," Nedeljkovic says.

He also points out that O'Brien often draws historical parallels.

"He frequently draws these historical analogies from the American Revolution, the Irish uprising... For us at this moment, it doesn't mean much and doesn't tell us much because there is a prevailing opinion here that anyone who collaborated with Madeleine Albright has some negative connotation. This is not quite the case with O'Brien. According to the testimony of many present at the negotiations in Rambouillet, including our negotiator Vladan Kutlesic, O'Brien was the voice of reason and genuinely tried to reach a certain kind of agreement that involved broad autonomy, which at one point even our leadership at the time did not agree to, and everything else, of course, is history," Nedeljkovic says.

Our interlocutor emphasizes that it's interesting for him that the US administration is placing a person with, as he says, a Balkan "pedigree" in a crucial position.

"It's interesting to me that a person with a Balkan 'pedigree,' someone who has been involved in the State Department and dealing with the Western Balkans or the Balkans as a whole, is appointed to a key position, such as the Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia. In my opinion, this is an important signal that the US is increasingly focusing on this region. Why? It seems to me not for any good reason. Because we are a potential source of a new hot spot and a new crisis," Nedeljkovic believes.

He adds that the White House and the State Department's appointments show an increasing US interest in the Balkan region.

"By appointing highly focused and competent individuals for the Balkans, such as Christopher Hill or James O'Brien, a message is being sent that this region is in full focus. A few years ago, we couldn't have expected the Western Balkans to be so high on the US agenda. Even now, we can't say that we are among America's top five priorities, but we are certainly moving up the ladder, which may be an opportunity to address numerous challenges in the Western Balkans," Nedeljkovic notes.