The United States reacted calmly to Kosovo's official application for membership in the Council of Europe, which makes it obvious that Washington is providing maximum support to Pristina.
In response to a corresponding question from Voice of America, a US State Department spokesman said that “Kosovo and Serbia are sovereign countries that have the right to determine their own foreign policy priorities.”
“We continue to believe that dialogue on normalization of relations under the auspices of the European Union is crucial for both countries to open up their European future. We encourage them to participate promptly, flexibly and seriously in that process,” the response said.
Let us recall that after Pristina's Minister of Temporary Institutions, Donica Gervala-Schwarz, submitted an official application for membership in the Council of Europe, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said that Pristina had “cruelly trampled” the Washington Agreement.
Following the signing of the Washington Agreement in September 2020, Belgrade and Pristina made separate commitments to economic cooperation as well as cooperation with the United States.
The agreement included a one-year moratorium on Pristina's abstention from applying for membership in international organizations. In turn, Belgrade pledged not to conduct a diplomatic campaign to refuse recognition of the so-called independence of Kosovo. The moratorium expired on September 4, 2021.
Last September, on the eve of the anniversary of the Washington Agreement, the State Department directly called on Belgrade and Pristina to continue to observe a moratorium on issues that complicate the technical progress of negotiations.
The Biden administration has accepted its obligations under the Washington Agreement, which was confirmed several times last year by the American Ambassador to Pristina, Philip Cosnett, Voice of America reports.