Kosovo has given US President Donald Trump, its highest honor on Friday, September 18, for his role in a historic peace deal agreed with Serbia earlier this month. Kosovo President Hashim Thaci awarded Trump the country’s Order of Freedom “for his exceptional contribution for the freedom of Kosovo and the strengthening of Peace and reconciliation in the region.”
According to the president, the award is given to those who made significant contributions to defending Kosovo’s freedom. President Thaci also said he was giving Presidential Medals of Merit to National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien and Richard Grenell, who served as intermediaries during the talks.
The award comes after Trump oversaw the signing of the agreement between Serbia and Kosovo earlier this month, which normalizes economic relations between both countries. The deal also sees Kosovo recognizing Israel, and Serbia agreeing to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
The deal was signed by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo’s Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti in front of Trump in the Oval Office with Trump describing it as a “major breakthrough.”
Trump even received a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. Magnus Jacobsson, a member of the Swedish Parliament, said he was nominating Trump along with Serbia and Kosovo “for their joint work for peace and economic development, through the cooperation agreement signed in the White House.”
For those who don’t know the history between Kosovo and Serbia, Kosovo had declared independence from Serbia in 2008, nine years after NATO conducted an airstrike campaign against Serbia in a bid to end the brutal persecution of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
After Kosovo’s declaration of independence, most Western countries recognized Kosovo’s independence but Serbia, Russia and China did not.
