Djuric: US more insistent on Community than some European states

BELGRADE - Serbian Ambassador to the US Marko Djuric said on Friday that, compared to some European states, the US was more insistent on implementation of agreements on a Community of Serb Municipalities in Kosovo-Metohija.

Commenting on a recent statement by US Senator Steve Daines that the Brussels and Ohrid deals were agreements in the right direction, Djuric told Tanjug that making new friends was significant and that Daines had expressed great respect for Serbia.

"The fact we are making new friends is very significant. Senator Daines is in the Balkans and the region for the first time, and the Congress is in an Easter recess, and he chose for to spend his time with his wife in our country - that is more than an official visit," Djuric told Tanjug, adding that he had met with Daines a month ago to speak about Serbia.

"Next week we will have Congressman Eric Swalwell as our guest. He is one of the leading Democrats, and Senator Daines is a Republican, and we are trying to do this independently of party affiliation in an attempt to build a new Serbian lobby in the US," Djuric added.

He said Daines had also expressed great respect for Serbia's economic progress and responsible energy policy.

"Since Senator Daines is a member of the committee on energy and is especially interested in the way we are addressing the issue, he was impressed by the fact Serbia is not abandoning the traditional energy sources such as coal and hydropotentials while developing modern capacities and renewable energy sources and keeping up with the world on that issue," Djuric noted.

Asked whether the atmosphere in Washington had improved and whether Washington would insist on implementation of the Brussels Agreement and the Community of Serb Municipalities, Djuric said Daines and Swalwell were not a part of US executive authorities but did have an influence on the general political climate in Washington.

Djuric said he had had an extremely good meeting with US State Department Counsellor Derek Chollet last Friday and that Chollet had expressed respect for Serbia's contribution to maintaining peace and stability.

In the US administration, Serbia is recognised as a part of the solution, while the regime of Pristina's PM Albin Kurti does not only not have a monopoly on dialogue with the US, but neither has support for the unilateral, destabilising moves it has made on the ground over the past several months, Djuric said.

"I think it is extremely important that America insists on the implementation of the agreement on the Community of Serb Municipalities more than some European countries do. Is their position on independence of Kosovo and on their own geopolitical interests changing fundamentally? No, but having a kind of Serbian interest in the algorithm of the equation of their positioning is very important for us, and we are, in fact, trying to build a Serbian political infrastructure in Washington," Djuric said.