Security in the region/ Vučić meets with the US ambassador to NATO on regional security

2026-04-22 22:23:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Security in the region/ Vu?i? meets with the US ambassador to NATO on regional

Serbian President Aleksandar Vu?i? met with the United States Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, on April 22, with whom he discussed security in the Western Balkans region.

Vu?i? said that they discussed the most important security and political issues in the region, Serbia's position in complex geopolitical circumstances, as well as the need to maintain peace and stability in the Western Balkans.

Earlier, on April 22, during a visit to a demining center near Belgrade, the US ambassador to NATO stated that cooperation between the United States and Serbia in clearing remaining mines would remain a "shared priority", reports the Beta agency.

Whitaker said that the US has been working closely with Serbia since 2008 to remove mines and clear cluster munitions in civilian areas, calling the Mine Action Center an "excellent partner" in these efforts.

He added that in 2025 a "significant turning point" was reached with the removal of remaining cluster munitions in civilian areas, and that the focus is now on clearing the last mines.

"This cooperation saves lives and will remain a shared priority of our countries," Whitaker said.

He also added that the US has invested more than $28 million in these activities, and that work is currently underway to secure an additional $1.5 million for demining projects in Serbia.

"These important efforts reflect the strength of our bilateral relations and open a new era in relations between Serbia and the United States, focused on the future," he said.

The meeting with Vu?i? comes a day after Whitaker stayed in Kosovo, where he held separate meetings with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, Acting President Albulena Haxhiu, and the commander of the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR, Major General Ozkan Ulutash.

Meanwhile, in an editorial published in the Serbian media outlet Politika, Whitaker said that the choice that makes the most sense for Serbia is "closer cooperation with the US and NATO" in the field of security.

"Instability is the greatest security risk in the Balkans. Unresolved issues between neighbors and vulnerability to the influence of harmful external forces are a dangerous combination. Good relations with neighboring countries, integration into European security systems, and a future-oriented mindset are the best protection against these vulnerabilities. And what the United States, NATO, and Serbia have in common is a key interest in preserving peace and stability in the region," Whitaker wrote, Beta agency reports.

Mentioning a joint exercise between Serbia and NATO that will be held in the future, the American ambassador said in the editorial that this is a moment "for a new chapter in our relations", which should focus "on the future and not the past".

“Defense and security cooperation with uncertain partners creates long-term strategic dependencies that are difficult to break free from. Moreover, the acquisition of defense technology that is not operationally compatible with European or American systems, and that is also of lower quality, complicates future cooperation and creates unnecessary obstacles to the future increase in Serbia's military readiness,” Whitaker wrote in the editorial titled “Side by Side – A New Chapter for the US and Serbia.”

In March, Serbia announced the purchase of supersonic ballistic missiles from China for its air force.

Thus, it became the first power in Europe equipped with CM-400AKG air-to-surface missiles, which have a range of hundreds of kilometers.

Vu?i? has also warned about the purchase of new weapons.

Serbia has in its arsenal weapons from the West, such as Rafale jets, but also from Russia, such as the MiG-29./ Rel