Vučić praises Trump: Serbia can be a strategic advantage for the US

2026-05-22 16:59:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Vu?i? praises Trump: Serbia can be a strategic advantage for the US

Serbian President Aleksandar Vu?i? said that Serbia understands the vision of US President Donald Trump, and added that the US leader and his associates are ready to "listen to Serbia's position."

In an opinion piece for Fox News on May 22, Vu?i? wrote that Serbia offers the US "strategic depth, political stability, and a government oriented towards implementation, not ideology."

The president of Serbia, a candidate country for membership in the European Union, but which also maintains close ties with Russia and China, said that "the unique relationship between Serbia and the United States can serve as a key advantage for the stability and growth of the entire continent."

Vu?i? added that Serbia is at the crossroads of "critical energy, transport and digital corridors that connect Southeast Europe with the rest of the continent."

He also highlighted, as he said, the willingness of Trump and his closest associates to "listen seriously and without prejudice to Serbia's position."

"I remember meetings at the White House with his inner circle, which lasted for hours after difficult negotiations, but at no point did I feel that my concerns were ignored or that I was treated differently," he wrote.

During Donald Trump's first term, in September 2020, Vu?i? signed at the White House, in the presence of the US president, the so-called Washington Agreement for the normalization of economic relations between Serbia and Kosovo, together with the then Prime Minister of Kosovo, Avdullah Hoti.

Vu?i? also wrote that Serbia's sympathy for the US has grown, unlike, as he said, much of the European establishment, "which views the 'America First' philosophy with a mixture of bewilderment and hostility."

"During my travels around the country, I have noticed something that is almost rare on our continent: undistorted enthusiasm for the leadership of Donald Trump," Vu?i? wrote.

He said that Serbia has long harbored "deep-seated suspicions" toward the US, particularly because of memories of NATO bombings.

NATO carried out bombings against the then Yugoslavia in 1999 to stop crimes by Serbian forces against Albanian civilians during the war in Kosovo.

Vu?i? wrote that Serbian citizens see Trump as a peacemaker and that Serbia sees in him "a leader who values ??national sovereignty in the face of faceless bureaucracy."

"If Donald Trump visits Belgrade, he will enjoy a hospitality unseen in Europe," he wrote.

Vu?i?, at the end of December, stated that Belgrade expected big steps forward from the US president's administration, but that this had not been felt so far.

He then mentioned the sanctions against the Serbian Oil Industry, NIS, which the US imposed in January 2025 due to majority Russian ownership in this company, as well as the US tariffs on foreign imports, of which, among the Western Balkan countries, Serbia was hit the hardest.

Although it was warned several times, the strategic dialogue between Serbia and the US has not yet begun.

In January, Vu?i? stated that the US had set a "political" demand and another related to energy for the launch of this dialogue, without providing details.

Washington, which sees curbing Chinese and Russian influence as one of its main interests in the Western Balkans, has not provided more information.

The US also aims for immediate progress in the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo.

The United States has not had an ambassador to Serbia for more than a year.

Although Trump nominated Republican Mark Brnovich for the position in March 2025, the administration withdrew the nomination in early October, without giving a reason./ Rel