Kosovo action moves to Washington

With global attention increasingly focused on the Covid-19 pandemic, US diplomats amazingly found time in early March to continue pressing Kosovo and Serbia to reach additional compromises, achieving partial success.  Intense pressure is building on the new Kosovo government to permanently abolish the tariffs still in place on goods from Serbia.
White House Meeting
Kosovo President Hashim Thaci confirmed to Radio Free Europe that he met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at the White House while they were both independently visiting the US capital and added that there were no specific topics discussed during the March 2 White House talks.  He described the session as “a goodwill meeting, a message of peace sent to Kosovo, Serbia, and the Western Balkans.”
Thaci added that both sides welcomed the “leading role” of US President Donald Trump and the “dynamism and leadership” of his Special Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo, Richard Grenell, who was transferred back to Washington in February from his posting as US Ambassador to Germany and given the assignment as acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI).
Kosovo announces partial suspension of tariffs on Serbian goods
A new minor success in the ongoing dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia was achieved February 27, when Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti announced that his government planned to partially lift the 100% tariff it had imposed in 2018 on goods from Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina on March 15. From Washington, Grenell almost immediately criticised Kurti’s announcement as a “half measure” and called for the full abolition of tariffs “as soon as possible.”
Washington ups pressure on Pristina to remove tariffs
In a new development, Senator David Perdue (R-Georgia) said on March 10 that U.S. forces have helped maintain peace between Kosovo and Serbia and argued that Pristina now “must do its part” to maintain regional stability by abolishing the tariffs.  This was essentially a reiteration of the Trump Administration’s policy.
On Twitter, Perdue, who is also a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, put it this way: “If Kosovo is not fully committed to peace, then the U.S. should reconsider its presence there.”
Further increasing pressure on the Kosovars, Donald Trump Jr, son of the US President, retweeted Senator Perdue’s statement, adding that there are 650 troops in Kosovo and that it’s “time to bring them home.”
Getting the bulk of US troops out of Kosovo has been a Republican objective since the time of President George W. Bush and US troop numbers have steadily declined from a maximum of around 7,500 out of a total of approximately 48,000 KFOR troops in 1999, with US-funded civilian contractors now handling the majority of duties Washington has been unable to transfer to local security forces.
Since 1999, the vast bulk of KFOR troops and development assistance have come from the 27 nation of the European Union.