Djuric: Trump does not view Serbia through the lens of the '90s prejudices

Today, Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric stated that the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States is good news, as he is familiar with the region and does not view Serbia through the prejudiced lens of the 1990s. Djuric told TV Happy that he congratulated Marco Rubio on his election as U.S. Secretary of State and that he would also send a letter with intentions to further deepen relations and strengthen cooperation, as well as a desire to host President Trump in Serbia. He announced that a Serbian official has a visit scheduled in February to meet with U.S. officials in Washington.

Discussing the strong support of Serbs for Donald Trump, Djuric remarked that this shows the Serbian people hold themselves in high regard, supporting those they believe will treat them with more respect, and it also demonstrates the "appetite" of Serbian citizens for quality relations with the U.S., based on mutual respect.

He reminded that Serbs were well organized for the U.S. elections, with multiple Serbian groups politically active, collecting donations, and that the Serbian-American Political Action Committee was recently formally established.

He pointed out that the amount of money invested in America for a particular political issue does have an influence, citing, for example, that Albanian lobbyists have perfected lobbying for their interests over decades. In this sense, he mentioned that Serbia is not a priority in U.S. foreign policy, and especially not domestic policy, hence efforts are needed to highlight "our case" and attract the attention of certain U.S. politicians to constructively engage with Serbia.

"For Serbia and the region, the election of Trump is good news because he knows the region, and even has family ties. He does not view the region and Serbia through the eyes burdened with prejudices from the 1990s. He knows what it means to be demonized, personally accused, and pronounced guilty without fault. We have made significant efforts, and Serbia, guided by President Vučić's vision, has made serious strides in building political infrastructure in the U.S.," said Djuric, adding that he firmly believes in the system, which he himself helped build while he was ambassador, where it does not matter who holds which position, but rather there is a "well-oiled machine" and a network of influential Serbian individuals in the U.S. and Serbia working towards the same goal.

He added that in the U.S., there are more than a million people of Serbian descent, actively including 137 Serbian Orthodox Church parishes, and the community includes intellectuals and university professors, which he says, represents enormous potential.

"We indeed have great potential, our people were neither organized nor inspired to engage politically, but that has changed. Serbs see and are beginning to use their opportunity," underscored the minister.

He conveyed that he congratulated Marco Rubio on his unanimous Senate confirmation as U.S. Secretary of State earlier this morning.

"Today, besides public congratulations, I am sending him a letter in which I express the intention to further deepen relations, strengthen cooperation, and the desire to host both him and President Trump," Djuric stated.

Asked whether an offer had reached Trump from Belgrade for it to be the venue for his meeting with Vladimir Putin, Djuric indicated that such a meeting between the American and Russian presidents would be "enormous news" for humanity, wherever it occurs, and that Belgrade is naturally the place for such a meeting.

Serbia, he indicated, is a country that leads a balanced, multivector foreign policy, has fantastic relations with countries outside its continent, has open access to the European market, aims to become an EU member by the end of the decade, but also has free trade agreements with China and the Eurasian bloc, and maintains good ties with countries in Africa and Latin America.

"We are a good space for hosting global discussions on various topics," emphasized the head of Serbian diplomacy.

He recalled that Serbia has already discreetly hosted certain discussions, demonstrating its capacity and political character for such events.

"We are endlessly proud that Serbia is not under the political control of any foreign power," stressed Djuric.

He added that making such an offer has raised Serbia's profile on the international scene, while the fact that numerous media outlets reported it, and analysts spoke positively about the initiative, brings additional value to Serbia.

"We are focused on building excellent direct communication with the new U.S. administration regarding bilateral relations and on having representatives of the new administration visit Belgrade soon," stated Djuric.

He announced that "one of the high-ranking officials of Serbia" already has a scheduled visit and meetings with U.S. officials in Washington in February, without specifying who.

Reflecting on the signing of the Washington Agreement in 2020, during Donald Trump's first term, Djuric recounted that the then Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti never received an invitation for a one-on-one meeting with Trump and did not meet him. He mentioned that Trump only saw Hoti in the signing hall during the Washington Agreement ceremony.

He noted that the agreement contained positive aspects for Serbia related to the Serbian Orthodox Church, road and railway construction, and the economy, unlike other administrations that focused on status issues.

Djuric also said that Trump's team were "very firm negotiators," and that the initial offer presented to the Serbian delegation was very tough and unfavorable. President Vučić, the minister recalls, was prepared to walk out of the negotiations, despite pressure, until a text favorable to Serbia was reached.

"Besides not receiving Hoti as the prime minister of so-called Kosovo, Trump initiated a bilateral meeting with the Serbian side, even though he was not obliged to. We had a separate meeting with Trump, during which he spoke very affirmatively about Serbs and Serbia," said Djuric.

Expressing hope that Trump will visit Belgrade, Djuric noted that, looking at the reality and current global situation, both in America and Europe, it is not realistic to expect this to happen so soon.

With Trump's administration, he believes, Serbia should be more ambitious, show readiness to fight for its goals, and demonstrate that this is in American interest, not just Serbian.

"Previous authorities in Serbia failed to construct Serbian national interests as something that fits both globalization and the new world order and that it is not contrary to global trends. That's why we often found ourselves on the wrong side," the minister observed.

He added that interstate relations generally do not necessarily depend on ideological closeness of governments in countries, but in this case, he points out, there is an ideological closeness between the Serbian and American governments, which can benefit mutual relations.

"An infrastructure of our relations has been built, we have more than doubled the Serbian caucus, created a new residence, an embassy in Washington, which is a gathering place for both American business and economic elites. The Serbian-American Business Club has been established. We have made contracts with lobbying companies that have a good reputation, which helps Serbia's visibility in accordance with American political customs and laws, to better position ourselves in the U.S. However, at the same time, Serbia is very careful to ensure its foreign policy is balanced. I recently visited Beijing, and Minister Wang Yi expressed appreciation for Serbia's position and Serbian interests," said Djuric.