18 May 2009
Vice President Biden Begins Visit to the Balkans May 19
Washington — Vice President Biden is traveling to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo beginning May 19 in large measure to demonstrate intensified U.S. engagement in the Balkans, a senior administration official says.
“The vice president, by his presence there, is going to demonstrate ... the administration’s commitment to very strong United States support for moving all three countries toward a future in the Euro-Atlantic community,” the official said.
Biden travels to Bosnia-Herzegovina on May 19, then on to Serbia on May 20, and concludes the western Balkans tour on May 21 in Kosovo. The trip, in part, is the message, which means that given how early in the new administration it is, the Balkans is very much on the minds of President Obama and the vice president, the senior official said May 15 in a background briefing for journalists in Washington.
In Bosnia-Herzegovina, the United States seeks to demonstrate its unequivocal support for the Dayton accords and for Bosnian sovereignty and territorial integrity, and for the state-building reforms that are needed for Bosnia to move toward NATO and European Union membership, he said.
“The vice president is going to underscore to the leaders he meets with, from all sides, the need to work across ethnic lines to build consensus on reforms moving forward, and also to fulfill the conditions required to close the office of the High Representative and transition ... to the EU,” the official said. Biden will be accompanied during this phase of the trip by Javier Solana, the EU high representative for common foreign policy and security policy, and High Representative for Bosnia Valentin Inzko.
In Serbia, the vice president wants to make clear the United States wants to re-engage with the Serbian government and people, he said. The administration acknowledges that there are going to be differences that will not be easy to resolve, particularly over Kosovo, but “we think there’s an opportunity for a new beginning, to move toward a closer, more constructive and cooperative relationship that can move Serbia toward the Euro-Atlantic community,” he said.
The last piece of the trip is in Kosovo, where the vice president will have an opportunity to underscore the U.S. commitment to a unified, independent, and multiethnic Kosovo, he said.
The overarching desire, the official said, is to help the Balkans advance along with the rest of “a Europe whole and free.” The Obama administration sees this opportunity as “helping the countries in the Balkans make progress and become strong, self-sustaining democracies,” he said.
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