Serbian media quoted Balkan experts Florian Bieber and Tim Judah, who expressed surprise at the announced appointment of Richard Grenell as special envoy for negotiations.

Professor at the University of Grazz, Bieber wondered what the role of Matthew Palmer was, the recently appointed US Secretary of State's Special Representative for the Balkans.

"If Trump appoints Richard Grenell as special envoy for Serbia and Kosovo, what than is the role of Matthew Palmer?" Bieber wrote on Twitter.

One of Kosovo's most extreme lobbyists has been targeted by fierce criticism of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Belgrade based daily Vecernje Novosti wrote today.

The daily writes about the lobbyist US Congressman Eliot Engel, describing him as ''the creator of lies about the alleged rape of 20,000 Albanian women during the war in Kosovo''.

New report suggests some progress from previous years.

The U.S. State Department released its 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report this week, which indicates that Kosovo has a long way to go to tackle the phenomenon. As with last year, Kosovo has been categorized as a Tier 2 country, meaning it has “not fully met Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards” but is “making significant efforts” to do so.

One of the most serious problems with human rights in Kosovo during 2015 was the obstruction, at times violent, of the parliament by opposition deputies during the October-December period, states the annual US State Department report on human rights. This obstruction, according to the report, blocked free debate and the passage of legislation. Furthermore, endemic corruption in the government and the private sector as well as the lack of punishment for corrupt acts remained an important human rights problem.

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hashim Thaci, will travel to Washington after a long time. On 19 January, he will meet with senior officials of the U.S. State Department, and he will learn whether he is going to be the future President of Kosovo, as foreseen in the agreement between his party and the Democratic League of Kosovo. It has been a long time since Thaci stepped in the offices of the State Department, notes Gazeta Express explaining that during the last two years, he mainly met U.S.