„Trump Bridge“ over Gazivode: Serbs grateful to Trump for „bringing peace“

The inscription „Trump Bridge,“ as well as a banner written in English which proclaims that Kosovo Serbs thank the US president for „bringing peace,” appeared in the early afternoon today on the Brnjak bridge over Lake Gazivoda. In addition to this, the end point of the lake on the Kosovo side, Grenell’s idea of „Lake Trump“ is also realized at the point where the lake begins. The local self-government of the municipality of Zubin Potok still has no knowledge about these inscriptions.

According to a currently available video and photo material shared on social networks, the banner with the words „Trump Bridge” is displayed over the bridge arches. On the road of the bridge, there is another banner, also written in English, which reads: „President Trump, Kosovo Serbs thank you for bringing peace.“

Brnjak residents confirmed for KoSSev that the banners are displayed on the bridge.

On the other hand, in a short statement for KoSSev, the mayor of Zubin Potok, Srdjan Vulovic said that he had no knowledge of this initiative, adding that he is not currently in Zubin Potok due to private obligations.

The Brnjak bridge over Lake Gazivode is one of the trademarks of the municipality of Zubin Potok. It is located on the line which separates Kosovo and central Serbia.

The suspension bridge, with its unusual style for this highland landscape, has two high white arches, and is about 120 meters long. It is known among the people of the Kolasin area as Ljubicic’s bridge – after the famous general of the former Yugoslav People’s Army, Nikola Ljubicic who gave the initiative for the construction of this bridge.

Washington partition of Gazivode

Lake Gazivode, i.e. the feasibility study of „sharing Gazivode as a reliable source of water and energy supply“ is one of the points of the agreement on economic normalization recently signed by Aleksandar Vucic and Avdullah Hoti on September 4th in Washington, in the presence of US President Donald Trump.

This point caused controversy in the Kosovo public, while the coalition partner of the Kosovo Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj threatened to overthrow the government if it is signed. The agreement was eventually signed, however.

How Grenell’s idea moved from the White House to the Brnjak Bridge

In one of the numerous interviews after the signing of the agreement, US Special Envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina peace talks, Richard Grenell commented that, during the debate on whether the lake should be referred to as Gazivode – the Serb term, or Ujmani – the Albanian term, in the agreement, he jokingly suggested that the lake should be called Trump Lake.

„Serbs supported“ Trump in 2016, Trump „brought peace“ now

This is not the first time messages of support for the US president „mysteriously“ appeared in the municipalities in the north of Kosovo. Billboards containing messages of support for Trump flooded the Serb-majority municipalities in the north in November 2016 – when Trump won the presidential election. It still remains unknown who was behind this.

„Serbs stood by him the entire time!“, „Serbs supported him“ – read the messages on the billboards at the time, immediately after Trump’s victory in November 2016. Thus, for the first time, an American president found himself in the same place previously occupied by the “honorary citizen of Kosovo and Metohija „- Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.

Putin’s US counterpart is currently in a new election race to win his second term in the office. Also, because of the agreement on economic normalization, together with the Kosovo and Serbian governments, Trump is also a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Trump was nominated twice in the same category for brokering peace between Israel and the UAE.