David L. Phillips, director of the Program on Peace-building and Rights at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights and author of “Liberating Kosovo: Coercive Diplomacy and U.S. Intervention”, writes in an op-ed that the outstanding issues between Kosovo and Serbia can best be solved through joint EU-U.S. diplomatic efforts and while normalization process may address bilateral issues, “it all comes down to Serbia’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence.” Phillips argues that the mediators of Kosovo-Serbia talks need to have “strategic and moral clarity” and that the EU should appoint prominent figures as special envoys such as Germany’s minister Wolfgang Schauble while the U.S. could appoint the former secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, as special representative. “An agreement between Kosovo and Serbia would stabilize a strategically important region in Europe, reaffirm the importance of trans-Atlantic cooperation, and underline Washington’s indispensable diplomatic role,” Phillips writes.
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