From tomorrow, Washington and Belgrade sit down at the same table under the heading "strategic dialogue". The State Department announced it as the start of a new era in relations between the two countries, with the first session held in Washington.

The wording in the American statement is carefully measured: the dialogue "reflects a new era in relations between the US and Serbia" and is "a sign of both countries' commitment to broadening and deepening the partnership". When diplomacy talks like this, it usually means something concrete was agreed behind closed doors, and the public gets the front page.

The decision isn't new. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced back on 6 August last year that the US would hold a first strategic dialogue with Serbia. So the preparation took nearly a full year - which tells you this isn't improvisation, but a process somebody built patiently.

Foreign Minister Marko Đurić put it in his own frame: "For the first time in history, Serbia and the United States of America are raising relations to the level of a strategic partnership," he said. Đurić added that the decision was taken in Washington and represents "a strong political signal" not only for Serbia, but for the American public and institutions as well.

Đurić also thanked President Aleksandar Vučić for backing the process. "President Vučić has for years supported our efforts to improve relations with the US," the minister said. The question the statement doesn't answer is a different one: what exactly is expected from Belgrade in return? Strategic partnerships are rarely gifts.

According to the announcement, the two sides will use the dialogue to work on shared goals - regional peace and stability, expanded business and educational ties, a more prosperous future. It all reads beautifully on paper. But "regional peace and stability" in Washington's vocabulary for the Balkans has never been an abstract phrase - it always has an address.

When one country in the region gets its own channel to Washington, that shifts the balance for everyone else in the neighbourhood. Is this recognition of somebody's weight, or another attempt to rearrange the Balkans from capitals outside it? The answer, as usual, won't be found in the statements - but in what happens over the coming months.