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 J. 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.
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.
At the end of last year, Grenell met Hashim Thaci in Berlin, immediately after the introduction of the 100% tax on products from Serbia proper.
“Thaci and I discussed the importance of long-term decisions rather than short-term reactions. I am glad that he accepted and promised to work towards abolishing the recently introduced tariffs on Serbian products,” Grenell said in a statement to the Washington Post at the time.
Richard Grenell has also been the US ambassador to Germany since 8 May 2018.
Media Expert
For almost two decades, Grenell was the leading communications consultant for federal, state, local and international officials.
He was one of John McCain’s leading media advisors during the 2000 presidential race. Grenell also owns a communications company, Capital Media Partners, which he founded in 2009.
(RTS, 04.10.2019)
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