In contrast to the well-known love of Albanians for American politicians, now, almost for the first time in recent history, Serbs from Kosovo are also praising the Americans.
The inscription "Lake Trump" and the banner of gratitude of the Serbs to American President Donald Trump on the bridge above Lake Gazivode in the north of Kosovo also delighted the special envoy of the USA, Richard Grenell.
His tweet may also be an announcement that this may not be just a courtesy message, but also that this geographical term will get a new name.
What to call the lake that is in Kosovo and Serbia has been a serious sticking point despite the US forged compromise to launch a feasibility study to create jobs and more energy for the region....so both sides have agreed to a new name: Lake Trump. https://t.co/AgeDNZ4aBd
- Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) September 24, 2020
Tributes and signs of gratitude to American officials are not new when it comes to the majority Albanian population due to the widespread support for Kosovo's independence.
But the move by the Serbs, who had mostly negative attitudes towards the Americans, especially after the NATO bombing in 1999, caused quite a surprise.
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The boulevards in Pristina bear the names of former American presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush, while former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton can boast that a boutique in the city center is named after her - and sells the suits she is famous for.
"It is a sign of political immaturity and fetishization and glorification of power, regardless of who is in power in America today.
"In this particular case (Lake Tramp), I think that frogs and grandmothers are being confused, as people would say," Kosovar analyst Beljulj Bećaj told the BBC in Serbian.

However, this attitude towards the Americans was not reserved only for the majority Albanian population.
One of the most beautiful streets in the center of Kosovska Mitrovica, where mostly Serbs live, has been named after the assassinated US President John Kennedy for decades - from the period of the former Yugoslavia, reminds the editor of the Kossev portal Tatjana Lazarevic.
"Mitrovica was a cosmopolitan city where western culture was nurtured, we even learned English when Russian and German were taught in most schools.
"Now, of course, this has nothing to do with that. I'm not inclined to believe that people naturally wanted to change the name of the lake located in the heart of Ibarski Kolašin, which is a mountainous region very proud of its history and origin," Lazarevic told the BBC in Serbian.
Lazarevic in the Washington Agreement, which he says was "rightly criticized by many", recognizes elements of long-term American interests that are directly related to the suppression of Russian and Chinese influence in the Balkans.
Above all, energy and 5G network issues.
"The Americans have not made a complete turnaround - they have not stopped considering Kosovo as a partner, but now they are ready to put pressure on them in order to reach some solutions.
"It should not only be seen through the upcoming elections, but also in the long term," she points out.
What does everything in Kosovo already bear the names of Americans?

In addition to large boulevards and numerous monuments, Kosovo also has an American University, various American hospitals, and even secondary schools.
Often, children are given American names.
Former NATO commander Wesley Clark also has a street in Prizren, and a driving school in Pristina is named after him.
The late son of US Vice President Joseph Biden - Beau Biden - also received the freeway.
They are mostly politicians from the ranks of the Democrats in America, while Trump is a Republican.
The Americans also worked to change the perception in Serbia, says Marko Savković from the non-governmental organization Fund for Political Excellence.
"They devoted themselves a lot to public diplomacy, through the campaign You are the world, marking the centenary of the end of the First World War when the Serbian flag flew over the White House.
"Symbolic, but very significant - and people recognize that," Savkovic told the BBC.
However, he considers the sign at Lake Gazivode "rather a marketing trick."
"It is more likely that the same people who hung the banners for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin have now been ordered to write this for Trump," Savkovic notes for the BBC.
He assesses that in that story "there is a lot of flattery as soon as both sides are ready to change the name of the lake that already has two names".
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What did Grenell publish?
Belgrade and Pristina agree that Lake Gazivode will be named after Trump in the future, Grenell announced on Twitter.
"What to call a lake that is a serious obstacle for Kosovo and Serbia despite the compromise devised by the US to launch a feasibility study to create jobs and more energy for the region... so both sides agreed on a new name: Trump Lake," Grenell wrote. on Twitter.
The Belgrade media previously published photos from Lake Gazivode, the dam and the bridge with a banner in English: "President Trump, the Serbs of Kosovo thank you for bringing peace".
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Avdulah Hoti signed an agreement on economic normalization on September 4 in the White House in the presence of Trump, which foresees, among other things, the preparation of a study on the feasibility of sharing the energy resources of Lake Gazivode.
Serbs from Kosovo also supported Trump in 2016

This is not the first time that Serbs from Kosovo have publicly supported Trump. His victory in the presidential elections in the northern part of Kosovska Mitrovica was also celebrated in 2016.
Immediately after the announcement of the results, the locals gathered and shouted his name, and they went to the city center placed billboards with pictures of the American president and the message: "Serbs supported".
The banners of gratitude to Trump are, says Tatjana Lazarevic, also this time in precisely selected places - but it is still not known who put them up.
The bridge, which could also bear Trump's name, was previously called the Brnjački or Ljubičić bridge after the former Yugoslav People's Army general Nikola Ljubičić, who initiated its construction.
This bridge over Lake Gazivode is one of the trademarks of the municipality of Zubin Potok, and is located on the border between Kosovo and central Serbia.
"I see the similarity of this with that train from Belgrade that left painted with icons, rather than the similarity between the initiative to have the bridge bear Ljubičić's name, and now Trump's," adds Lazarevic.
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Imitation of Albanians

Gratitude to the American people and their state that exists in the Albanian nation should not be tied to the rulers, Bećaj believes.
"Every naming is an expression of some political aspiration, not to say adulation, but the contribution of Clinton and Bush to Kosovo cannot be compared with that of Trump."
"He is an authoritarian ruler who makes unilateral decisions and does not deserve to have anything named after him. His administration was the first to condition Albanians, which is a new gesture compared to the previous ones," notes Bećaj.
That is why the Serbian side evaluates this initiative as an "imitation of the Albanians in the context of changed political circumstances".
However, first of all, according to the analyst, Belgrade and Pristina should reach mutual recognition and find a common interest, and the name of the lake or bridge is a secondary issue.
"Shakespeare said that ``a rose remains a rose, even if it is called by another name.'' The lake remains where it was, even if it was called Trump's," concludes Bećaj.
Serbsja and Trump
According to some public opinion surveys in previous years, citizens of Serbia are more sympathetic to Russia and China than to the USA and the European Union, even though the EU is the largest donor of aid to Serbia.
But lately, especially after the conclusion of the agreement between Belgrade and Pristina in the White House in Washington with the presence of Donald Trump, things seem to be changing.
Admittedly, Trump won the sympathy of some in Serbia before.
That's how he is the leader of the Serbian Radical Party and former Vučić's party boss Vojislav Šešelj walked with his associates and supporters in a T-shirt with the image of Donald Trump in 2016, in protest of the visit of the then first vice president of the USA, Joe Biden, to Serbia.
Tabloid "Inform", close to the authorities in Serbia, in November 2016 leased billboards in Belgrade congratulating Trump on his victory in the presidential elections, which read: "Trump, Serbs".
What are they saying on Twitter?
Many were surprised by the decision to suddenly change the name of the lake, although none of the local officials confirmed this idea.
Gazivode is now Lake Trump. Let Gazimestan get ready?😔
- Natalyna (@ Natalyna16) September 25, 2020
Hear Trump Lake? We are not normal if this really comes to life!
— ɐuǝʌʇsuɐčᴉʇšǝΛ Ariana (@arianastam) September 25, 2020
Lake Trump? Lake Trump! Lake Trump?!
— Trivial Bestijalac (@bestijalac) September 25, 2020
Some opposed it, some supported it, if it is the way to peace between two peoples.
If this means that there's gonna be peace between Kosovo and Serbia than go ahead.
— Burim Osmani (@BurimUSA) September 24, 2020
"Grenell said that Lake Gazivode should be called Lake Trump..." ::Selling a plot and a cottage with all things on the lake...
- Dejan Nedeljkovic (@OkKaoPerson) September 25, 2020
Ricard GRENEL delighted with the SERBS and KIMA did they put the TRAMP LAKE on Gazivode. We know very well what a strategic place it is for all Serbs and also for SERBIA.
— ZOZON Agent 007 (@Zozobikic3) September 25, 2020
I read in Politics that Lake Gazivode will be called Lake Trump from now on. And that both parties agree. Well, our country, shame on you!
— Korchagin (@Koragin1) September 25, 2020
"Grenel: Lake Trump instead of Lake Gazivode – a great idea" It's not your grandfather to take it and change its name!
— Pierluigi (@Pisacuzvetar) September 24, 2020
I don't give a Trump lake, well, I don't.
— Sunny☀️ (@suzaanton) September 24, 2020
And there were also witty comments.
It's a short way from "I don't give Gazivode" to "Lake Trump"
— Candidate (@kandidatkinja) September 24, 2020
Twelve years after declaration of independence, Kosovo was recognized by about 100 countries. However, the exact number is not known.
Pristina cites a figure of 115 countries, and in Belgrade they say that there are far fewer.
Among the countries of the European Union that have not recognized Kosovo are Spain, Slovakia, Cyprus, Greece and Romania, and when it comes to world powers, they are Russia, China, Brazil and India.
Since 2008, Kosovo has become a member of several international organizations, such as the IMF, the World Bank and FIFA, but not the United Nations.
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