Today marks six years since the signing of the Washington Agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, a process mediated by the United States of America.
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The commitments to economic normalization were signed at the White House on September 4, 2020, by Kosovo’s then-prime minister, Avdullah Hoti, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić. The then-president of the United States, Donald Trump, was also present at the signing ceremony.
The document included commitments related to infrastructure, the economy, energy, security, missing persons and religious freedom.
As part of the agreements reached in Washington, Kosovo and Israel agreed to recognize each other. Kosovo subsequently established diplomatic relations with Israel and opened its embassy in Jerusalem on March 14, 2021.
One of the document’s provisions required Kosovo not to apply for membership in international organizations for a period of one year. Serbia, meanwhile, undertook to suspend its campaign to withdraw recognition of Kosovo’s independence for one year.
Presented below are the main commitments included in the documents signed by the Kosovo and Serbian sides.
Kosovo and Serbia committed to implementing the agreement on the Belgrade-Pristina highway, signed on February 14, 2020, as well as the agreement signed on the same date on the Belgrade-Pristina railway connection. They also undertook to dedicate themselves to preparing a feasibility study on the possibility of connecting the Belgrade-Pristina railway infrastructure to a deep-water port on the Adriatic.
The parties pledged to cooperate with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and EXIM to put into operation projects including the Peace Highway, the Pristina-Merdare railway connection and the Niš-Pristina railway connection. This commitment also included securing financing to support the loans needed by small and medium-sized enterprises, implementing other bilateral projects and establishing a full international presence of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation in Belgrade.
The document stipulated that both parties would open and put into operation the facility at the joint border crossing in Merdare. Kosovo and Serbia would also join the initiative then known as “mini-Schengen,” announced in October 2019 by Serbia, Albania and North Macedonia, and would make use of the benefits it offered.
The commitments also included the mutual recognition of diplomas and professional certificates.
On energy issues, the parties agreed to work with the U.S. Department of Energy and other institutions of the U.S. government to prepare a feasibility study on the joint use of Lake Gazivoda as a source of water and energy supplies. Both parties also committed to diversifying their energy sources.
In the telecommunications sector, Kosovo and Serbia undertook to ban the use in their communications networks of 5G equipment supplied by vendors deemed untrusted. Where such equipment had already been installed, it was to be removed in due time.
The agreement also included increased screening of air travelers and expanded information sharing. The parties further committed to technological upgrades in the fight against malicious activities, using systems secured by the United States, including PISCES, APIS, ATS-G and SRTP.
Regarding religious freedoms, both parties pledged to protect and promote them. This included resuming interfaith communication, preserving religious sites and implementing court decisions concerning the Serbian Orthodox Church. These commitments also covered the issue of Jewish properties dating from the Holocaust period.
Kosovo and Serbia committed to accelerating efforts to locate and identify the remains of missing persons. They also undertook to work toward durable solutions for refugees and internally displaced persons and to designate points of contact in the relevant ministries.
Another commitment stipulated that the parties would work with the 69 countries where homosexuality is criminalized, with the aim of decriminalizing it.
Both parties agreed to designate Hezbollah, in its entirety, as a terrorist organization and to take measures to restrict the organization’s operations and financial activities within their jurisdictions.
Kosovo agreed to implement a one-year moratorium during which it would not seek new membership in international organizations. Serbia, meanwhile, agreed to a one-year moratorium on its campaign against recognition of Kosovo. Belgrade was also required to refrain from making official or unofficial requests to states or international organizations not to recognize Kosovo as an independent state. Both moratoriums took effect immediately after the signing.
Finally, the documents also confirmed Kosovo and Israel’s agreement on mutual recognition.
