KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th August, 2018) The United States hopes that Serbia and Kosovo will find a "mutually satisfactory" settlement to their territorial dispute, and Washington will certainly support their agreement, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Friday.
Serbia and the self-proclaimed republic of Kosovo are currently engaged in a conflict over their borders. In early August, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that he favored partitioning Kosovo along ethnic lines as a means of avoiding further conflicts. According to this plan, Serbia would give up its southern areas, mostly inhabited by Albanians, for Kosovo's territories where Serbian population prevails. However, Kosovo's President Hashim Thaci rejected the idea.
"We would not stay in their way, and I don't think anybody in Europe would stay in their way if the two parties to the dispute reach the mutually satisfactory settlement," Bolton told reporters in Kiev, adding that the US side was ready to help "from a distance or up-close."
He said that the territorial dispute was obviously a "difficult issue," as it would have been resolved "a long time ago," if it was an easy one.
"We don't think we're going to solve it for them, we think they've got to solve it for themselves ... If Kosovo and Serbia reach an agreement that's satisfactory to both of them, I think we would unquestionably support it," Bolton said.
According to him, "finally bringing stability to the Balkans" is important, as this will both boost economy and "help an average person."
Kosovo proclaimed its independence from Serbia in 2008, which over 100 UN member states, including the United States, officially recognized, while Serbia still considers Kosovo its territory.
