CHINA/NATO/RUSSIA/SERBIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Serbia’s president said Friday [12-21-18] he doesn’t share U.S. President Donald Trump’s optimism that an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo is ‘within reach,’ two decades after their war. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that a letter sent by Trump expressing that opinion is ‘rational’ and welcome, but also added: ‘We are far from any kind of agreement.’ In almost identical letters to the Serbian and Kosovo leaders, Trump urged the two to secure a ‘historic’ deal that would bring ‘long-sought’ peace to the Balkan region. Trump said that the U.S. stands ready to assist and that he is looking forward to hosting the two presidents in the White House ‘to celebrate what would be an historic accord.’ Kosovo broke away from Serbia after a 1998-99 war and NATO intervention that stopped a bloody Serbian crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists. In 2008, Kosovo unilaterally declared independence which is recognized by the U.S. and most of the West, but not by Serbia and its allies Russia and China.”
–Associated Press, “Serbia Not as Optimistic as Trump Over Deal With Kosovo,” The New York Times online, December 21, 2018