Garcevic Interviewed on U.S. Western Balkans Special Envoy
Ambassador Vesko Garcevic, Professor of the Practice of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was interviewed for a recent article on the U.S. State Department’s decision to appoint a special representative for the Western Balkans.
Amb. Garcevic was interviewed for a September 9, 2019 article entitled “Palmer in Podgorica on Three U.S. Priorities in the Western Balkans,” published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
From the text of the article:
Asked to comment on the State Department’s decision to appoint a special representative for the Western Balkans, Garcevic said that “we should not expect the US to considerably increase its presence in this part of Europe, but it’s good to have someone who has been appointed as a permanent envoy”.
“Matthew Palmer, the new U.S. special representative, has been already in charge of Eastern Europe as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, but his recent appointment has more than symbolic meaning. Though he will be primarily focused on the stalled dialog between Serbia-Kosovo, his appointment sends a message that the US wants to play a more active role in this part of Europe… Furthermore, the growing presence of third actors, first of all, Russia and China, and their political and economic advance, coupled with the recent EU vague messages about the EU future of the Balkans nations, prompted the State Department to appoint the special representative.”
During his diplomatic career, Amb. Vesko Garcevic dealt with issues pertinent to European security and NATO for almost 14 years. In 2004, he was posted in Vienna to serve as Ambassador to Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He had been a Montenegro’s Ambassador to NATO from 2010 until 2014 and served as a Montenegro’s National Coordinator for NATO from 2015 until he joined the faculty at the Pardee School.