Djuric: Serbia hired two lobbying companies in the US

The Ambassador of Serbia in Washington, Marko Djuric, pointed out that two lobbying companies were engaged in the United States of America, which helped in lobbying and creating a better image of Serbia in the international arena.

Djuric said on TV Pink in the show "Novo jutro" that Serbia had to work to change the negative image that had been built for decades, and which, as he stated, had been paid for by Serbia's regional rivals in the previous period.

"Today we are doing what has not been done in previous decades, and we are creating the preconditions for Serbia to have a firm foothold in the USA. People of our origin and our church are helping us with this. But the vision that comes from Serbia is key in this, which is that our country must reshape its position in the international arena. Just as we have started the economy and infrastructure in the previous ten years, we are changing and strengthening the position of Serbia in this regard," Djuric said.

He added that Serbia had something to offer.

"It may not always be easy to come to an agreement with Serbia, because we have our vision of the world even though we are small, but the friendship that is built with Serbia is much more reliable than the friendship with those who only know how to speak in the language of flattery, listening and carrying out orders. Even today in Washington, as well as in other addresses, there are people who recognize this," Djuric said.

As he stated, the position of Serbia in the USA was not easy, but the Serbian lobby worked with great success.

"The Serbian lobby in the USA is functioning. Of course, the position is not easy, because we are starting from a big disadvantage, which includes the fact that they supported the creation of an independent Kosovo 25 years ago. But today we have the Serbs who are American citizens and who talk and lobby with their elected representatives. I am very proud of that. I have been in the USA for less than three years, but with the support and vision of President Vucic and the government, for Serbia to build a strong foothold in America, we created a new embassy, a business council, a conference of the Serbian diaspora that brought together the Serbs from 50 US states in Washington, which launched a new type of lobbying," Djuric said.

Djuric, when asked about Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, said that it was better for the opposition in Kosovo to talk about him, more precisely the President of AAK Ramush Haradinaj and LDK MP Isa Mustafa, referring to their statements that Kurti represented Russian interests in the Balkans, which Djuric believes is not the case, but that Kurti certainly causes escalation in the north of Kosovo.

"Albanian leaders are not naive to say that, they know very well that Kurti's actions harm the Albanians. Just as it causes suffering for our population in the north of Kosovo and Metohija, in the medium and long term it also threatens the goals of the Albanians," Djuric said.

He pointed out that the Serbs in the USA acted in concert with one goal - that the Serbs and the Americans be a strong bridge between the two countries.

He added that Serbia could not treat the US sanctions imposed on the Director of the Security Intelligence Agency, Aleksandar Vulin, as anything other than a political act until the evidence showed otherwise.