More from Hungary...
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's political director, Balázs Orban: "I've taken the kids to playschool but today Dad chooses the music in the car:
Former Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány:
"Ha. The world is going to be messier now with Trump for a while. But we will get over this, too."
Reaction of Milorad Dodik, president of Republika Srpska:
Dodik is on a U.S. sanctions list. Read more here.
Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic...
"Sincere congratulations on the victory...
"Serbia is committed to strengthening relations with the USA, especially in the context of regional stability, the fight against terrorism and economic development. I expect that in the future we will mutually improve our relations based on understanding and mutual respect."
Hungarian Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky...
"Make America Great Again! Europe is getting ready."
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte...
Just in from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy:
Former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis:
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili:
Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani:
Background:
Kosovo, throughout the years, has been constantly in the attention of the U.S., regardless of its political leadership. Under Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1999, the U.S. and other NATO allies bombed targets of the then-Yugoslav Army to stop the violence in Kosovo. Almost 10 years later, under Rublican President George W. Bush, Kosovo declared independence. Even the current administration has constantly encouraged Kosovo to normalize relations with Serbia, as a condition to move forward on the path of European integration, while Trump as president witnessed the signing of an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia for the normalization of economic relations.
The previous Trump administration said that it would not oppose a territorial exchange between Kosovo and Serbia to resolve their long-running dispute -- provided Pristina and Belgrade work out a "mutually satisfactory settlement" between themselves -- which the current Kosovo government opposes.
During Trump’s presidency, Trump and his administration warned on several occasions about the possibility of withdrawing American troops from Kosovo. Their presence within the peacekeeping mission of NATO, KFOR, is seen as a guarantee for the security of Kosovo.
Kosovo's prime minister, Albin Kurti, in 2020 even accused Grenell of being "directly involved" in the overthrow of his government less than two months after he took office as premier.