The Atlantic Council will publish a report on the new US strategy for the Balkans.
According to Voice of America, it proposes establishing a permanent US military presence in Southeast Europe, advocates for "historic reconciliation" with Serbia and renewal of the reputation of the United States as a true mediator.
Voice of America (VOA) in Serbian language writes that two weeks after the visit of the High State Department official Hoyt Bryan Yee to Belgrade - his encounters and messages are still being talked about. Especially one that Serbia should not sit on two chairs. The American diplomat explained at a gathering on the Balkans, held in Washington, what he meant when he said that, Voice of America reports.
Kosovo's new parliament convened Thursday for the first time since a snap election in June, but deputies did not appoint a new speaker or hold a debate as the winning coalition struggled to secure a majority.
http://bit.ly/2fcUfAl
In an interview to Voice of America, the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia, Hoyt Brian Yee, said that the international community would support any legally-constituted government in Kosovo that shares that same fundamental values.
After the recent elections, Vetevendosje movement appears to be the party with the biggest number of seats at the parliament.
The United States has expressed concern about a disaster relief center Russia is operating in Serbia, which some Western groups and military analysts see as a subtly disguised military base set up by the Kremlin to spy on U.S. interests in the Balkans.
Lawmakers in Kosovo voted to dismiss the government of Prime Minister Isa Mustafa in a no-confidence motion Wednesday, leading to a snap election next month.
http://www.voanews.com/a/kosovo-lawmakers-dismiss-government/3846116.html
Increased U.S. and European engagement in the Western Balkans will be critical to countering an increasingly assertive Russian in the region, Republican Arizona Senator John McCain told VOA Wednesday.
McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, made the comments shortly after returning from a tour of the region, which included a stop in Montenegro, whose U.S.-backed accession to NATO has been vigorously opposed by Russia.
The United States said Wednesday that it was "concerned" by Kosovo's plans to convert its security force into a regular army without a constitutional amendment — a move sure to infuriate Serbia.
"We support the gradual transparent transformation of the Kosovo Security Force into a multiethnic force in line with NATO standards," a statement from the embassy in Pristina said.
http://www.voanews.com/a/nato-us-warn-kosovo-against-move-to-form-army/3755434.html
In a move likely to anger neighboring Serbia, Kosovo's President Hashim Thaci on Tuesday filed a draft law to convert the country's lightly armed security forces into a national army.
http://www.voanews.com/a/kosovo-moves-to-establish-army-defying-belgrade/3754084.html