Richard Grenell revives claim John Bolton pushed Kosovo ‘territory swap’ idea
President Trump’s Special Presidential Envoy for Special Missions, Richard Grenell has resurfaced a 2020 Fox News interview to argue that the territory-swap concept discussed in the Kosovo–Serbia dialogue was the brainchild of U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, not Trump administration policy.
Why is this important: The notion of exchanging territory between Kosovo and Serbia was among the most contentious ideas of that period. Grenell who at the time served as special envoy for the dialogue, has long maintained the U.S. focus was on economic normalization, and that border ideas complicated talks and inflamed opposition across the region.
Context: Sharing the June 18, 2020 clip on X, Grenell said that political actors in both Pristina and Belgrade repeatedly attributed the swap idea to Bolton. In the interview he emphasized it was not Trump policy and claimed that when he pressed his counterparts on the source, “both sides” pointed to Bolton. He also accused Bolton of pursuing personal agendas on “Iran, Kosovo, Serbia.”
Background: The territory-swap debate flared in 2019–2020 ahead of the Washington agreement signed in September 2020 by then Kosovo PM Avdullah Hoti and Serb President Aleksandar Vučić. Bolton, who left the White House in 2019, has defended discussing a range of options in the Balkans while in office, though the swap idea drew sharp criticism from many Kosovo and regional stakeholders.
What’s next: Grenell’s renewed comments rekindle an unresolved dispute over who floated sensitive border changes during a pivotal phase of Kosovo–Serbia talks and are likely to prompt fresh scrutiny of U.S. roles and messages from that period.
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