Matthew Palmer, deputy assistant secretary of state and special representative of the US State Department for the Western Balkans of the outgoing Republican administration, believes that Brussels and Washington are “cooperating well” on the Balkan issue.
The official stated this in an interview with RTV, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Asked by a Serbian journalist how an agreement could be reached between Belgrade and Pristina if the EU and the US were competing to see who could come up with the best solution, Palmer said Washington strongly supported EU special envoy Miroslav Lajcak and his vision on the issue.
“We work side by side. The dynamics are complicated now. Normalizing relations between Belgrade and Pristina will reset the entire region, and it will be a huge step forward, but there is still a lot of work to be done, starting with where they are now and where they should be in the future, says Palmer. “We support the EU’s work to normalize political relations, while the US works in parallel to normalize economic relations.”
At the same time, the American complained about serious conflicts among the elite of Kosovo separatists, calling on them to find a common position so that Pristina could participate in the dialogue with a single voice.
According to Palmer, the consistent policy of all US administrations, whether Republican or Democratic, has been oriented towards peace and the creation of a region that is stable, prosperous and integrated into the European family of nations, as well as into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions.
“This means bringing the entire region into the EU and joining NATO for everyone who wants to join, but also implementing all the reforms necessary to do so,” the State Department spokesman added.