The special envoy of the United States of America for the Balkans, Gabriel Escobar, will visit Montenegro and Kosovo this week, the State Department announced.
Escobar will hold meetings in Pristina on the impact of the new regulations of the Bank of Kosovo regarding cash operations, and it is expected that he will call for procedures to ensure that the needs of the population in Kosovo are fully met.
Escobar will meet with representatives of the interim authorities in Pristina, civil society and the Serb community, and is expected to emphasize the US’s support for the EU-mediated dialogue on the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina.
During his visit to Podgorica, Escobar is expected to emphasize the support that the US provides to democratic Montenegro rooted in the Euro-Atlantic community. In Montenegro, he will meet with representatives of the government and civil society, as well as with business leaders.
According to the State Department, Escobar’s visit will confirm commitment to the countries of the Balkans on the path of Euro-Atlantic integration and deeper regional cooperation.
Escobar will visit Belgium and Austria until Monday, March 18. In Belgium, he will meet with the EU’s special representative for dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, Miroslav Lajčak, and other officials of the Union and NATO, in order to discuss efforts in the field of implementing reforms that will bring peace, stability and progress to the region.
During his visit to Austria, Escobar will meet with representatives of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, with whom he will discuss the elections in Serbia and North Macedonia.
