Tomic: The USA sees Serbia as a country that leads the entire region towards the EU through the "Open Balkans".

The image of our country in the USA is changing and they no longer see us as the main villain, but as a country that wants to cooperate and lead the entire region towards the EU through the "Open Balkans", Zoran Tomić, an SNS member in the Serbian Parliament, told for Politika.

A nine-member delegation of the Serbian Parliament visited the United States from December 12 to 22, as part of the "Open World" program of the Congress Office for International Leadership, where they learned on the spot how their federal, regional and local institutions work. In the nine-member delegation from Serbia that stayed in the USA, there were five representatives of the ruling coalition (SNS and SDPS) and four members of the opposition (Zajedno, NDB, PSG and SDA).

Part of the delegation was MP Zoran Tomic from Krusevac of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). He says for "Politika" that the invitation to participate in this program clearly shows that Serbia is a country with which the USA is interested in deepening cooperation, all thanks to the efforts of President Aleksandar Vucic and the policies he leads.

Tomic says that they pointed out that Serbia was for peace and stability, because that was the policy of our President Vucic and that through the initiative "Open Balkans" he was putting it into practice, which was supported by the hosts.

He reports that the talks with the congressmen were excellent.

"They asked a lot of questions, they listened to our point of view and proposals about potential cooperation in the field of economy, but also science, education, sports... I am proud that they spoke in the best light about the activities of our ambassador Marko Djuric, whom they had the opportunity to meet and who left a great impression on them. Indeed, the image of Serbia in the USA is changing and we are no longer seen as Serbia from the 1990s, presented as the main villain, but as Serbia that wants to cooperate and that, through the 'Open Balkans' initiative, wants to lead the entire region towards the EU", Zoran Tomic points out.

Zoran Tomic says that the conversation with Martin McDowell was certainly the most difficult they had during the visit, where they clearly saw the US policy towards our region. He says that they have received clear signals that they support us on the way to the EU and that they are ready to help as much as possible, but also that we cannot easily come to an agreement on some issues.

"We have made it known that Kosovo is an inalienable part of Serbia, while the point of view of the USA, of course, differs on this issue. On our part, as representatives of the ruling coalition, we clearly pointed out that we are a country that is moving towards the EU and clarified our position and position in the geopolitical sense, that we stand for peace and stability, that we condemn every form of aggression and violation of international law that we ourselves have experienced in 1999 and that we know very well what sanctions can do to someone, especially when they are introduced for no reason. We have all seen how much effort President Vucic puts in when it comes to international relations and the fight for Serbia's interests," Tomic says.

He says that Martin's answer to the question of what he would do as president of Serbia was interesting, to which he did not give concrete answers and clearly said that he would never want to be president of Serbia.

"This shows that, whether they like it or not, the USA also sees that Serbia is in a special position, that it is difficult to be the head of Serbia in today's challenging times and how much energy and strength our president invests in the fight for the interests of our citizens," Tomic says.