Trump Meets Leaders of Kosovo, Serbia on Friday

U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić in the Oval Office on Friday, the White House said in a statement.Trump will attend a signing ceremony and participate in a trilateral meeting afterward, the statement, issued late Thursday, said, but it did not specify what would be signed.After the first day of negotiations on normalizing economic relations, Vučić said that he was presented with a draft agreement which mentioned mutual recognition and that he rejected it.Trump’s special envoy for the peace talks between Kosovo and Serbia, Richard Grenell, took to Twitter saying that it was not true.Not true. https://t.co/oDyaqs7ZvJ— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) September 3, 2020For his part, Hoti did not comment on whether there was such a proposal but stressed that “harmful agreements for Kosovo, unacceptable for Kosovo, have never come and will never come from the White House.”On Thursday evening, after the leaders from Belgrade and Pristina ended the first day of negotiations, Grenell tweeted:It’s been a productive day. I am hopeful.It’s been a productive day. I am hopeful.— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) September 3, 2020Earlier, Trump’s national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, who is co-hosting the meeting along with Grenell, struck an optimistic tone about the negotiations.O’Brien also thanked the American Financial Corporation for International Development, the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the American Export-Import Bank, for joining the talks.“Very good round of discussions this afternoon with the leaders of #Serbia and #Kosovo. They made real progress today. Thanks to @DFCgov, @MCCgov, and @EximBankUS for joining. #EconomicNormalization means jobs for young people. Talks continue tomorrow!” – NSA Robert O’Brien“Very good round of discussions this afternoon with the leaders of #Serbia and #Kosovo. They made real progress today. Thanks to @DFCgov, @MCCgov, and @EximBankUS for joining. #EconomicNormalization means jobs for young people. Talks continue tomorrow!” – NSA Robert O’Brien pic.twitter.com/7usHrh2w2N— NSC (@WHNSC) September 3, 2020After the meeting Friday at the White House, Hoti and Vučić are scheduled to meet separately with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at the State Department.Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, but the latter has refused to recognize it. Kosovo’s independence also is not recognized by Russia or China.Kosovo’s independence has been recognized, however, by more than 100 members of the United Nations, including the United States, and most of the European Union member states, except for Slovakia, Cyprus, Greece, Romania and Spain.  
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