US nominates special envoy to Serbia-Kosovo peace talks

The US ambassador to Germany was on Thursday named as Washington's special envoy for negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo, the White House said in a statement.

"President Donald 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 statement read.

Grenell, 53, will do his new job concurrently with his current post as ambassador to Berlin, a position which he has held since April 2018.

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A former spokesman for the US representative to the United Nations under President George W. Bush, Grenell was an early supporter of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

Serbia's former southern province Kosovo declared independence in 2008.

The country is recognized by most of the Western world, but Belgrade and its allies China and Russia do not, effectively shutting it out of the United Nations.