The U.S. ambassador to Germany will become Washington's special envoy for negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo, the White House has said.
"President Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to appoint the following individual to a key position in his Administration: Richard Grenell of California to serve concurrently as Special Presidential Envoy for Serbia and Kosovo Peace Negotiations," the October 3 statement said.
Grenell, 53, will act in his new role concurrently with his current post as ambassador to Berlin, a position which he has held since April 2018.
A former spokesman for the U.S. representative to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, Grenell was an early supporter of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
A former Serbian province, Kosovo declared independence in 2008.
The country is recognized by most of the Western world, but Serbia and allies China and Russia do not, effectively shutting it out of the United Nations.
In August, the U.S. State Department appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Palmer as the special representative for the Western Balkans with a mandate to help integrate the region into Western institutions.
It was not immediately known how Grenell and Palmer will interact.