As you well know, arguing with Red is a total waste of time.
Kosovo and Serbia signed a deal normalizing economic ties.
A mini-Trump foreign policy success.
Though this doesn't affect the political situation, with Serbia still claiming Kosovo as its own territory. But Serbia has been trying hard to join the EU who require that the Kosovo situation is resolved first.
I thought this part was interesting:
The White House summit was originally scheduled for June, but it was canceled after Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, who was to lead the Kosovo delegation, was indicted for war crimes by an international court.
And oddly this deal involved both Kosovo and Serbia agreeing to move their embassy to Jerusalem, joining the US and Guatemala as the only countries to do so.
Kosovo likely wanted to get recognition from Israel, as an extra country supporting its independence is helpful, while Israel loves the symbolism of a Muslim country not only recognizing Israel for the first time, but willing to claim Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.
Of course, Kosovar Islam is a pretty mild and easy going since the territory was officially atheist for decades. When I was in Kosovo a decade or so back, the young girls wore short skirts and make-up and the imam we talked to in a mosque lamented the paltry turnout and disinterest of the young people.
My general formula in the Balkans is that the closer you are to Serbians and Albanians the more trouble you have, as those are the two expansionist and militarist groups in the region. And Kosovo where Albanians and Serbians face off directly is the most lasting conflict. With UN troops keeping the sides apart in the divided city of Mitrovic.
Basically what is Kosovo today was the ancient heartland of Serbia and there are two 14th C Orthodox monasteries there to prove it. But in the 20th C, Albanians came into area and came to dominate that corner of what was Serbia. The Serbian monasteries in Kosovo are impressive and guarded by heavily armed UN troops to prevent their destruction by Kosovo nationalists.
After Eastern European communism ended and Yugoslavia fell apart, the Kosovo Albanians naturally looked towards Albania for help and guidance, but quickly realized that Albania was more backward than a backward province of Yugoslavia such as Kosovo. So they started modeling their politics more on Croatia.
Croatia and Slovenia bolster my rule that distance form Serbs and Albanians allows for peace and development. What's happened negatively in Bosnia and Macedonia confirm it as well.
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