Grenel: The USA will fulfill the promises made to Belgrade, we are focused on the economic development of the region

"We don't just want to talk about words, we want to focus on economic development for the benefit of the people"

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Vučić and Grenel in Belgrade, Photo: Betaphoto
Vučić and Grenel in Belgrade, Photo: Betaphoto
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

The US President's special envoy for negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo, Richard Grenell, said today in Belgrade that the US is serious about fulfilling its promises to Belgrade and Pristina and turning them into new jobs.

"We want to fulfill the promises we made earlier to Serbian officials, we don't just want to talk about words, but to focus on economic development for the benefit of the people," Grenel told reporters.

After the meeting of the President and Prime Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić and Ana Brnabić, and the delegation of the US government led by the executive director of the American Corporation for International Development (DFC) Adam Boler, Grenel said that "symbolism is important, but that it does not bring food".

"Many promises have been made to the people of Serbia over the years, I hope you will keep us at our word, not only for the agreement of September 4 in the White House, but also for the previous three agreements (on highways, railways, and air traffic)," said Grenell. .

After the meeting, Brnabić and Boler signed a joint statement on cooperation and symbolically opened the DFC office in Belgrade.

Grenell, the envoy of US President Donald Trump, stated that the head of the White House "is determined to come to Belgrade".

"He expressed his desire to come, but I don't have a date. Vučić offered President Trump a great vision of what he can expect from coming to Belgrade," Grenel added.

Boller said at the press conference that the Washington agreement "is not only historic" but a sign that the region "will not remain trapped in the past but will look to the future."

"We believe in the strength of the region, the opening of the DFC office is not symbolic, it will remain there, it is permanent and shows our interest in the economic development of the region," said Boler.

He added that the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo "opted for jobs and job creation, not for the dividing lines from the past."

The delegation of the US government came to Belgrade to implement the Washington agreement of the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo on the normalization of economic relations.

The leaders of Serbia and Kosovo signed different versions of the "Economic Normalization" document in the White House on September 4, which differ only in the last of the 16 points.

One of the points states that Kosovo and Serbia will cooperate with the DFC and the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of the USA on memorandums of agreement for the realization of the Highway of Peace, the railway connection between Pristina and Merdar, the railway connection between Nis and Pristina, and the provision of funds for financing loans. necessary for small and medium-sized enterprises, additional bilateral projects and permanent presence of DFC in Belgrade.

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