U.S. Ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, stated yesterday that there are issues where the United States and Serbia disagree, such as Kosovo, but he believes they can still work together.
In a TV K1 interview, Hill responded to why America, along with Turkey and the United Kingdom, heavily invests in transforming the so-called KBS into an army, despite KFOR being the only armed force in Kosovo as per Resolution 1244.
“The U.S. has made its decision, and here we are. Thus, the question arises whether we can work together despite having different opinions on some important issues, issues that are important to both you and us. I believe we can continue to work on these issues, even though we have disagreements. I am not here to say that we can agree on everything, but I am here to say that we will listen a lot. We will try to understand the situation and move forward,” stated Hill.
Hill mentioned that no one has told Serbia that Resolution 1244 is no longer valid, yet it is disregarded and America, which champions the rule of law, acts contrary to this resolution.
He said he cannot debate the past again, but what he can do is look at where we are today and see if there is room to work more together.
“I think there is, even though we have some disagreements,” stated the U.S. Ambassador.
“No one was happy with how things turned out in 1999, but it all went down. Then, a decade later, we had to make a choice, and none of the options were good. The U.S. ended up recognizing Kosovo,” Hill said.
“Our stance is that Serbia has been serious in these talks, this is a diplomatic process which naturally involves a lot of discussion and can be slow. I get why people are frustrated, but we are making progress,” Hill stated, according to Tanjug.
He added that the U.S. is trying to help in this situation, to make the region better and safer, and to improve the situation in the Balkans significantly compared to the past.
Hill added that he cannot promise miracles or change other people’s opinions about this, but he can promise that the U.S. is serious about trying to address these issues and serious about the process leading to better relations between the U.S. and Serbia.
“I understand that there are frustrations in Serbia due to events from previous decades, even centuries, but I think Serbia needs to realize that some people will understand, and some will not,” Hill stated.
As he added, you never address just a Serbian audience, but also an audience unfamiliar with Serbia.
