Contested lake in the Balkans to be renamed after Donald Trump

Donald Trump could soon have a lake in the Balkans named after him

Credit: Reuters

He has long blustered about draining the swamp in Washington, but Donald Trump may soon have a lake named after himself thousands of miles away – in the heart of the Balkans.

The reservoir lies on the border of Kosovo and Serbia and the two countries, which have a deeply fractious relationship, have long disagreed about what it should be called.

For Kosovo, it is Lake Ujman while for their neighbours in Serbia, it is Lake Gazivoda.

Now it has been suggested it be renamed Lake Trump, in recognition of the US government’s help in forging an economic normalisation accord between the two nations.

The putative name deal was announced by Richard Grenell, the president’s special envoy for Kosovo and Serbia.

He said that both Aleksandar Vucic, the president of Serbia, and Avdullah Hoti, the prime minister of Kosovo, had agreed on the name change.

Richard Grenell, special envoy for Kosovo and Serbia

Credit: Getty

"What to call the lake that is in Kosovo and Serbia has been a serious sticking point despite the US-forged compromise to launch a feasibility study to create jobs and more energy for the region….so both sides have agreed to a new name: Lake Trump," Mr Grenell wrote on Twitter.

That was confirmed by Mr Hoti, the leader of Kosovo. He said he had “welcomed” the proposal that the artificial lake be called Lake Trump “in honour” of the President’s role in reaching a “historic” deal on economic normalisation.

A huge banner reading “Lake Trump” was draped over the reservoir’s dam, while another that was hung over a bridge thanked the President for "bringing peace" to the region.

Mr Grenell said he had originally made the proposal in jest.

"There was this incredible fight about the name so I kind of jokingly said… well, I’m going to keep referring to it as Lake Trump", he told a US talk show.

"And both leaders jumped at it and said — I’m OK with Lake Trump, let’s call it Lake Trump.”

On social media, not everyone was enthused by the name change idea.

“I think that Serbia and Kosovo should change their name to North Trump and South Trump,” one woman wrote on Twitter, with a heavy dose of irony. “That is the least we can do in gratitude to the great Donald Trump who stopped hundreds of years of killing between Serbs and Albanians.”

Another Twitter suggested the lake would be “quickly rebranded after it somehow goes bankrupt.”

Jasmin Mujanovic, an academic and expert on Balkan affairs, said he was appalled by the idea, calling it a joke. “I’m speechless. What an utter farce.”

In response, Mr Grenell, the US envoy, said: “You and the other self-described Balkan experts had decades to try your ideas. It’s time to step aside because you failed over and over.”

The contested reservoir is a crucial source of drinking water for more than a third of Kosovo’s 1.8 million population, and a cooling source for the coal plants that produce almost all of Kosovo’s electricity.

Serbia, which still does not recognise its former province’s independence, considers the lake its property.