U.S. Senators Thom Tillis and Jeanne Shaheen have introduced an amendment within the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, aimed at strengthening the United States’ role in the normalization process between Kosovo and Serbia.
The amendment reaffirms U.S. support for mutual recognition between the two countries and rejects any policy promoting territorial division or exchange.
Below is Section 1280, addressing relations between Kosovo and Serbia:
Position of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that:
- The Agreement on the Path to Normalization of Relations, reached between Kosovo and Serbia on February 27, 2023, under the European Union’s mediation, represents a positive step forward in advancing the normalization process between the two nations;
- Serbia and Kosovo should immediately engage in making tangible progress on the Implementation Annex of the agreement mentioned above;
- Once sufficient progress has been made in the Implementation Annex, the United States should consider initiatives to strengthen bilateral relations with both countries, which may include:
- (A) Establishing bilateral strategic dialogues with Kosovo and Serbia; and
- (B) Launching concrete initiatives to deepen economic ties and investment with both nations;
- The United States should continue to support a final, comprehensive agreement between Kosovo and Serbia, based on mutual recognition.
Statement of U.S. Policy
It is the policy of the United States Government to:
- Reject any policy that supports territorial exchanges, partitions, or any form of border redrawing along ethnic lines in the Western Balkans as a means of resolving disputes between states in the region; and
- Support pluralistic democracies in the Western Balkan countries as a way to prevent the resurgence of ethnic conflicts that have previously characterized the region.
