Trump-Putin meeting in Belgrade?

2025-01-14 18:45:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

After the announcement that future US president Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin might meet after Trump takes office, Belgrade immediately offered to host the meeting. Is there really a chance?

People in Serbia adore Russian President Vladimir Putin, but also future US President Donald Trump - so what could be more logical than Serbia being the site of a historic meeting between the two? That's what Serbian President Aleksandar Vu?i? stated on Pink TV.

"We are fully prepared to guarantee the security of both presidents," Vucic said, asserting that, unlike other potential hosts of the meeting, Serbia is neither formally nor in essence a member of the US- or Russia-led military blocs.

Thus, "Little Serbia," as Vu?i? often likes to say, could enter the big game. If official Belgrade were to actually manage to meet the two world powers in Serbia, it would undoubtedly be a move that would also benefit Vu?i?.

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Serbia offered itself somewhat reluctantly for the first, again "historic" meeting between Trump and Putin after Trump's election to the first term. This meeting had been announced for more than a year and finally took place in 2018 in Helsinki. Today, Finland is not considered, because it became a member of NATO almost two years ago, at the height of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Donald Trump will return to the White House on January 20. He recently told reporters at his Florida residence with glee that Putin wanted to meet with him, adding: “We are now organizing.” It seemed almost like a done deal, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov played down the issue, saying that contacts were necessary and that it was good that there was political will for a meeting — but that there were no concrete preparations yet.

In addition to Serbia, Switzerland has also offered to host so far, although not as loudly. According to the local newspaper Temps, Switzerland has signaled to Washington, Moscow and Kiev that it is ready to host them, but that the country will not officially take a diplomatic initiative.

"China is also mentioned, and there will be offers from other countries," journalist Momir Turudiq tells DW. The place should be symbolic and comfortable for both, without tensions. "So it's unlikely to be in China, although Trump never knows."

Why Serbia?

Serbia, says Turudi?, is almost the only European country – apart from Belarus and the aforementioned Switzerland – where Putin would still be welcome. And in which he would not fear arrest on the orders of the International Court.

"Even at the beginning of the war in Ukraine, we reasoned that Serbia was almost the only neutral territory, like Casablanca, where everyone could meet. "Not because Serbia is neither there nor here, but precisely because it is both there and here," Turudiq adds.

However, it has been three years since the Russian aggression began and much has changed since then. Vu?i? insisted that no sanctions be imposed on Russia, but Serbia – which is an open secret – has armed Ukraine with equipment worth about a billion euros.

Vu?i? has repeatedly stressed that he has not seen or heard from Putin for a long time, but has regularly sent his hawkish deputy prime minister, Aleksandar Vulin, on "missions" to Moscow. The latest friction is continuing due to US sanctions against Gazprom, the majority owner of the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS). As Vu?i? announced, Serbia has until the end of February to completely exit Russian ownership of NIS. But Vu?i? hopes that with Trump's return, these sanctions can be lifted.

The adored Trump

Speaking about the Serbian offer to host, Vu?i? stressed that Trump has never had such support anywhere in the world as in Serbia. According to polls, this is true - in fact, support in Serbia was higher than what Trump had in the US. According to a Gallup poll from October last year, up to 59 percent of Serbs "supported" Trump, while only 29 percent supported the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris.

This is the only support for Trump above 50% in all of Europe. In Switzerland, as a potential host of the summit, Trump was supported by only a quarter of citizens, while Harris was supported by 61 percent.

Serbia has already made moves to invest in its relations with Trump. First and foremost, with good relations with his close confidant, Richard Grenell, but also by giving the space where the General Staff of the Army, bombed during the war, is located in the center of Belgrade, to Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to build hotels and apartments.

"The Serbian government certainly does not believe that the Trump administration will change its stance on Kosovo. But it believes that on issues such as the economic position of Serbs in northern Kosovo and the protection of monuments and religious sites in Kosovo, they can achieve more under the Trump administration," Vuk Vuksanovi?, a researcher at the Belgrade Center for Security Policy, recently told DW.

When talking about a possible meeting between the Russian and American presidents in Belgrade, it is also worth remembering the failed visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in 2022. He wanted to visit Belgrade, but NATO members Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro refused to allow Lavrov's plane to fly, so Lavrov was forced to return to Moscow. However, if the White House and the Kremlin were to plan a meeting at the highest level, it is unlikely that any NATO member would prevent the flight.

In the end, the matter is still in the realm of theory and fantasy of the authorities in Belgrade: "It is difficult to say what the chances are for a meeting in Serbia," says journalist Turidi?. "It does not sound illogical, and yet it seems incredible."/ DW