Thewesternbalkans.
According to different media, on 21 of January, Serbia’s Foreign Minister Marko Đurić said that his country will be an ideal position to host a meeting between Donal Trump and Vladimir Putin. He added that Donald Trump entering the White House for a second presidential term is good news for Serbia.
Đurić spoke about the importance of the Serbian community in the US, alluding to the fact that Serbs in the US supported Trump and donated to his campaign.
Đurić added that he had congratulated his counterpart, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, on his appointment and would soon send him a letter expressing the intention to further deepen and strengthen cooperation and the wish that Belgrade would host both Trump and Rubio. Acknowledging that Serbia has never been a priority for US foreign policy, Đurić said Belgrade was now focusing on building direct communication with the new US administration. The head of Serbian diplomacy also said that a senior Serbian official was due to visit Washington.
Đurić also said the US president has “family ties” with the region and is not a person burdened by negative stereotypes from the 1990s about Serbia. Trump’s wife, Melania, was born in the former Yugoslavia, now Slovenia, but he also has other links to the region. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, secured a 99-year permit to develop a luxury real estate project in Belgrade.
Comments: Speaking in Davos, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić also praised Trump, saying he had chosen the right priorities, specifically focusing on increasing energy production and energy exports.
It is clear that in order to organise such a meeting, Serbia has to prove absolute neutrality, which is quite difficult to happen. Nevertheless, President Vučić is obviously following in the footsteps of his Turkish counterpart Erdogan, who has been trying unsuccessfully to host such a meeting for two years, but on the other hand, he has achieved a number of advantages for his country in the complex geopolitical situation. Another question is how exactly Putin will get to Belgrade and how many barriers should be removed for this to happen.
