Djuric: Trump's views on Serbia not burdened by prejudices from 1990s

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Marko Djuric said on Tuesday Donald Trump's election as US president was good news for Serbia and the region because Trump knew the region and because his views on Serbia were not burdened by prejudices from the 1990s.

Trump has family ties to our region, but he also knows what it means to be unjustly accused and declared guilty without actually being guilty, Djuric said on Happy TV.

As a nation, the Serbs respect themselves and support those who they believe will treat them with more respect, and they also have a great desire for better relations with the US that would be based on mutual respect, Djuric said, noting that, "this time around, Serbian Americans had got themselves very well organised" before the November 2024 US presidential elections.

"We had several groups of Serbs that were politically active and raising donations. Recently - a few days ago - the Serbia-US Political Action Committee was formally established as well. Under US legislation, it is an organisation bringing together Serbs from America who are politically active and who are also raising donations," Djuric said.

Serbia and the region are usually not a priority for US foreign policy, and especially not US internal policy, which means that lobbying is required for topics that are of special interest to us, he said.

"That means we need to make a special effort to draw attention to our case and our priorities. And we must win over politicians who would be ready to deal with us in a constructive manner," Djuric said.