Djuric: While aware that Serbia has its own red lines, US officials assessed its behavior as constructive

Serbian Ambassador to Washington, Marko Djuric, assessed today after the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, to America and the talks he had with US officials that the year 2023 could be a positive turning point in relations between Serbia and the US, RTV reports.

"This year could be a positive turning point in relations between Serbia and the US, and the intensity of contacts at a high level testifies to the efforts of both our side and the US to bring these relations to a new level," Djuric said in a statement to Tanjug at the Serbian Embassy in Washington, in to whom he also spoke about the talks he had at the State Department about the Kosovo issue, but also about efforts related to visa liberalization and the Agreement on Avoiding Double Taxation.

The ambassador emphasized that one of the important topics in the State Department had been the issue of Kosovo.

"Serbia and the US have different views on the status of Kosovo and Metohija, but it is good that today the US and Serbia have exactly the same view on the issue of preserving peace and stability in our region and looking for a way forward when it comes to the normalization of the situation in Kosovo and Metohija," Djuric said.

It was shown, as he emphasized, that the USs looked positively at the rational approach of the President of Serbia and the Government of Serbia, along with the fact that Serbia had its own "red lines" when it came to Kosovo.

"With the awareness that Serbia has its own red lines, American officials assessed Serbia's attitude and behavior as constructive", Djuric said and emphasized that these days we saw clear signals that Pristina did not have a blank check for disrespecting the Brussels Agreement and for putting pressure on the Serbs.

Djuric assessed that it had been extremely significant.

Djuric assessed the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to Washington as extremely significant. He added that the talks with the senior political advisor of the US Secretary of State, Derek Chollet, which followed only ten days after his meeting with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucicc, and the Government of Serbia, testified to an increasingly intense exchange.

He reminded that this year we were marking 142 years of diplomatic relations with the US and that today we were discussing things such as the establishment of a strategic dialogue between the two countries.

"We intend to raise many topics from the Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation, which should open the door to our companies for even more intense cooperation, to issues such as visa liberalization. We want here in Washington to fight for visa liberalization with the US as we are convinced that our economy has something to offer to American companies that still employ thousands of people for whom we will ensure many new and better opportunities for investment in our country in the coming period," Djuric said.

The ambassador attended the prayer breakfast with the minister, who concluded Dacic's visit to Washington, and, as he said, the prayer breakfast had been organized this year in a modified format.

"It was returned to the original format in which the US president prays together with members of Congress and the Senate, while a separate gathering was organized for international guests, among whom was the King of Jordan, as well as a number of ministers and officials from around the world," Djuric said.

He assessed that it had been very good that Serbia had been represented at a high level by the fact that the delegation was led by Minister Dacic, but he also said that it had been a "great event for networking people from all over the world, from the American administration, the business world of various branches and areas of life. At the same time, he noted, the number of representatives from Serbia had been anything but negligible.

He stated that the 71st Prayer Breakfast had been attended by people from Serbia from local self-governments, the world of culture and art, various political parties, as well as representatives of the Karadjordjevic family.

"It was a wide range of people from Serbia's political class," Djuric said and added that he considered all these contacts to be valuable, especially because in the US a lot was based on personal contacts and friendships.

That is why he says, he called on all the participants of the rally yesterday at the embassy to perform as one team, regardless of all political, ideological, and personal differences.

"Let us act unitedly to build relationships that are part of the political elite of this society. Others have done it for generations and decades before us, and in this generation, we will not miss the chance to build a deep foundation of our presence," Djuric said.