Turner: Serbia is a priority for the USA; we are looking for a solution to the Kosovo issue with European partners

Republican US Congressman Mike Turner said that the United States, together with European partners, was working to find a solution to the Kosovo issue, RTS writes.

Turner says that the US is looking at how to support the European dialogue and their efforts and to jointly contribute to the solution, and when asked if he trusts Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Pristina, he replies that credibility is gained through actions and that there are a number of actions that need to be fulfilled which, he adds, is a matter of credibility.

When asked if the US administration had a mechanism to force Pristina to fulfill what had been promised 10 years ago, first of all, the formation of the Community of Serb-majority Municipalities, Turner said that the most important thing was that the international community worked together.

"The most important thing is for the international community to work together, as well as the EU and the US, and for our partners to find a solution together, and that is what the US will continue to do. My trip here is not about Kosovo. My trip is about the region," Turner told RTS.

As he stated, his first goal was to recognize the bilateral relations between Serbia and the United States.

"Our focus and why I am in Serbia is development, economic cooperation, positive trends, and I congratulate Serbia on what it has achieved when it comes to our relations and on the military side, too," Turner said, reminding that there was a partnership of the Ohio National Guard and the Serbian Army.

He points out that there are open issues in the region, and that he talked with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, about Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, on which issues, as he stated, the US should focus on and how they could contribute.

Turner is from Ohio, while in 1995, when the peace agreement was signed in Dayton, he was the mayor, he remembers that period as a period of hope because, as he says, "the incredible war atrocities in the Balkans were shocking for the world and for Europe and the United States".

And with the Dayton Peace Agreement, he adds, an opportunity for peace was seen.

"We are reaching 2025, which will be the 30th anniversary of the agreement. There are still things we need to do. I think that Bosnia has been somewhat left with an unmanageable Dayton structure. That is why I called many times for Dayton 2," he said.

When asked if the US understood the attitude of Republika Srpska when officials said they wanted the original Dayton, that they did not want to be deprived of the competencies that belonged to them as an entity, that they did not want foreign judges in the Constitutional Court, Turner said that the State Department was working very actively with all partners to try to engage in a dialogue that could lead to some solution.

"The thing is, it can't be imposed from the outside," Turner adds.

He believes that it can be seen through the work of the US Ambassador in Belgrade, Christopher Hill, that Serbia is a priority for Washington.

"This is certainly the case on the military side, but also on the economic side. Because we have strong bilateral ties; US companies invest in Serbia. You can see that the capital is recognition for what Serbia has achieved," Turner emphasizes.

When asked whether military cooperation between Serbia and the USA was easier than political cooperation, as well as whether one could get the impression that there was more understanding for Serbia's neutral position on the military side than on the political side, Turner stated that he did not agree with that.

"I think that on the political side, there are strong relations between our two countries. A bilateral relationship is established at the level of governments before it is implemented by different departments, ministries, and agencies. That is one of the reasons I am here," Turner said.

Answering a question about next year's elections in the USA, Turner says that they are primary party elections and everyone is competing against each other.

"I am a big fan of democracy; I also know that Serbia has a long democratic tradition. We have to wait for the democratic process to take place. And it will certainly be a very lively election cycle," Turner concluded.