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Is the Balkans now the center of US attention? How does President Trump see the region?

2025-12-14 22:01:11Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Is the Balkans now the center of US attention? How does President Trump see the
Is the Balkans still in the spotlight of the US?

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump's White House released its National Security Strategy, a document that every US administration issues to explain its foreign policy priorities.

Once part of the US strategic vision, today Kosovo barely figures in its National Strategy. Washington's priorities have changed, and Kosovo has not capitalized on the period of calm, remaining vulnerable.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump's White House released its National Security Strategy, a document that every American administration issues to explain its foreign policy priorities.

The strategy, which bears the president's signature, emphasizes that "the days when the United States supported the entire world order like Atlas are over," that "the affairs of other countries are a concern of the United States only if their activities directly threaten American interests," and that "the United States will reaffirm and implement the Monroe Doctrine to restore American primacy in the Western Hemisphere."

The 33-page document also calls for the "cultivation of resistance" in Europe, warning that the continent is undermining democracy, blocking peace in Ukraine and facing the "extinction of civilization" due to high migration and falling birth rates.

He also blames European officials for obstructing U.S. efforts to stop the war in Ukraine and accuses governments of ignoring a “vast European majority” that wants peace. Kosovo is mentioned only in the “principles” chapter, as one of President Trump’s successes in achieving peace between it and Serbia. Europeans have greeted this strategy with concern – “the foundations of partnership require mutual respect, especially in moments of political divergence,” said European Council President Antonio Costa.

In the assessment of Olivia Eno, from the Hudson Institute, the strategy openly acknowledges that America cannot deal with everything, leaves out some regions and problems, and clearly lists priorities, starting with the Western Hemisphere, then Asia, Europe, and finally the Middle East.

This choice, she said, is controversial for those who want a more stable foreign policy, but it is intentional. "I read it as a ranking of priorities. Others may disagree, but to me the message is clear: this is our hemisphere, so this is of the utmost importance to us. We are going to make sure that our border is secure. That is the top priority," Enos told Radio Free Europe.

For critics, the strategy is ideologically charged.

Former US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried says it separates values ​​from interests, conflicts with other US policies and favors the radical right in Europe, contrary to the US's own strategic goals.

The non-inclusion of Kosovo and the Balkans in general in the strategy, according to Fried, reflects both the reduced urgency of the crisis there, as well as the expectation that Europe will take the lead role.

He adds that, given the ideological tone of the new strategy, it is perhaps even “better” for Kosovo not to be mentioned at all.

"The strategy could have easily dismissed the Balkans as a European issue, not a U.S. one. And it could have even criticized our previous focus on the Balkans… why we got involved in Kosovo's state-building or human rights issues, which led us to military conflict," Fried told Radio Free Europe's Expose program.

However, according to him, the confusion is visible even in the capital of world decision-making – in Washington. It aims to strengthen the US military engagement in Europe and increase attention to Russia’s cooperation with China and North Korea. The law guarantees 76,000 US troops in Europe, stops major equipment withdrawals and continues support for the Baltic states, to contain Russia.

The section on the Western Balkans states, among other things, that "it is in the common interest of the United States and the countries of this region that they have sustainable economic growth and development."

He evaluates the Agreement on the Roadmap to Normalization of Relations between Kosovo and Serbia as "a positive step forward in advancing normalization between the two countries" and emphasizes that they should strive to make immediate progress in its implementation.

"The United States should continue to support a final comprehensive agreement between Kosovo and Serbia based on mutual recognition," the document also states.

Fried says the language in the National Defense Authorization Act is "completely opposite" to that of the strategy.

“It places limits on the administration’s ability to withdraw troops from Europe. This is also a Republican document. The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has supported it,” Fried says. Because of these contradictions, as he calls them, Fried also sees “relative hope” – that the US is not as determined to withdraw from Europe as the strategy might suggest.

For Kosovo, the alliance with the US remains an unbreakable axis. After a meeting with President Trump in September, the country's president, Vjosa Osmani, said she thanked him for what she called his tireless commitment to peace.

For former Austrian diplomat Wolfgang Petritsch, the era of the classical alliance between Europe and the US – the one built after 1945 – is over.

In the Balkans, he says, the US role is shrinking both strategically and politically. The region is increasingly seen as a European responsibility, and Balkan states, especially Kosovo, which is neither a member of the UN nor NATO, must adapt to this reality.

"We now live in an era of uncertainty – complete uncertainty – which for smaller and more fragile states like Kosovo, presents an even greater challenge than for those that are already in the European Union and that can try to act together within the EU," Petritsch tells Exposé.

He does not expect a new major conflict to erupt in the Western Balkans, just because the US may reduce its level of engagement. He emphasizes that Europe has a vital interest in not allowing another war on its doorstep, beyond the one already taking place in Ukraine. The US Bondsteel camp in Kosovo remains a key security element, but its future weight, Petritsch says, will depend significantly on US-Russian relations.

Fried, on the other hand, is more warning: according to him, the region would become more vulnerable if the United States reduces its presence and engagement.

He estimates that Russia and China would exploit such an American gap in different but complementary ways.

"China will try to buy up infrastructure and key nodes to gain control over more sectors of the economy. Russia will try to use some countries as proxies, exploiting their weaknesses and creating chaos wherever possible. In either case, both countries will see the Balkans as a platform for realizing their broader ambitions," says Fried.

A poll conducted by the International Republican Institute between May and July this year shows that the leaders of the two superpowers enjoy considerable support in several Balkan countries. In Serbia, for example, 50 percent of respondents have a “very favorable” opinion of Russia’s Vladimir Putin, while 38 percent have the same opinion of China’s Xi Jinping.

Në Kosovë, vetëm 7 për qind e të anketuarve shprehin opinion “shumë të favorshëm” për Putinin dhe 6 për qind për Xinë. E, për Trumpin kjo përqindje arrin në 52. Fried thotë se Evropa, veçanërisht BE-ja, duhet ta marrë udhëheqjen në stabilizimin e Ballkanit Perëndimor, sepse e ardhmja më e qëndrueshme e rajonit është brenda BE-së. Ai nënvizon se BE-ja duhet ta ketë fuqinë për të frenuar elementet agresive në Beograd, që veprojnë për nxitjen e konflikteve të reja në Kosovë ose për ta mbajtur Bosnjën të ndarë përgjithmonë. Sipas tij, kur Evropa ta marrë plotësisht këtë përgjegjësi, hapësira për Rusinë dhe aktorët e tjerë destabilizues për të luajtur lojëra në Ballkan, do të zvogëlohet ndjeshëm. “Evropa duhet ta marrë udhëheqjen tani. Kur ka dështuar, SHBA-ja është detyruar të ndërhyjë. E kuptoj këtë, por problemi real i takon Evropës, sepse e ardhmja më e mirë e këtyre vendeve është brenda Evropës – nëse duan të arrijnë potencialin që meritojnë”, thotë Fried.

Bashkimi Evropian konfirmon vazhdimisht angazhimin e tij për perspektivën e anëtarësimit të Ballkanit Perëndimor në BE. Samiti i radhës BE-Ballkani Perëndimor do të mbahet më 17 dhjetor në Bruksel. Prej vendeve të rajonit, vetëm Kosova nuk është ende kandidate për anëtarësim.

Petritsch thotë se Kosova gjithmonë do të ketë nevojë për marrëdhënie profesionale dhe të qëndrueshme me Uashingtonin, por ajo duhet t’i përshtasë pritjet dhe të shmangë supozimin se SHBA-ja do t’i “rregullojë” problemet rajonale si në fund të viteve 1990. Sipas tij, siguria dhe progresi i Kosovës do të varen shumë më tepër nga integrimi evropian, stabiliteti politik i brendshëm dhe arritja e kompromisit të vërtetë me pakicat. “Kompromisi është thelbi i demokracisë. Mendoj se ideja për të gjetur një kompromis pozitiv, nuk është ende e fortë në Kosovë. Por, tani kohët po ndryshojnë. Evropa është partneri më i rëndësishëm dhe më relevant për ndërtimin e shtetit dhe për zhvillimin ekonomik dhe politik. Ajo duhet të bëhet tani një fokus i ri dhe serioz për Prishtinën”, thotë Petritsch.

Fried thekson rëndësinë që Kosova të jetë një shtet demokratik dhe jo një projekt nacionalist, që pasqyron pjesën më të keqe të së kaluarës së Serbisë. “Unë kam qenë pjesë e vendimit të SHBA-së për të mbështetur pavarësinë e Kosovës, dhe ky ishte vendim i duhur. Flamuri i Kosovës është i shkëlqyer: nuk përfaqëson një komb të vetëm, por të gjithë banorët e vendit, dhe është i modeluar sipas flamurit të BE-së. Ai simbolizon qartë të ardhmen e Kosovës në Evropë për të gjithë qytetarët e saj. Marrëveshja jonë me Kosovën ishte: ne do të mbështesim pavarësinë, por ju duhet të punoni për një Kosovë demokratike, jo nacionaliste. Ne nuk duam një version të vogël të Serbisë së Millosheviqit”, përfundon Fried.

This suggests that in a region where the time for waiting for external guarantees is running out, the real test for Kosovo is its willingness to implement the rights promised to Serbian citizens and to show that democratic compromise, not constant conflict, is the path to greater European security and support. Otherwise, Kosovo risks becoming its own hostage, proving the skeptics right./ REL


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

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