The ambassador of the United States of America (USA) in Serbia, Christopher Hill, said that he sees Serbia as a European country and that he understands the problem of harmonizing the conditions for entry into the European Union when it comes to the introduction of sanctions against Russia.
“I see Serbia very clearly as a European country. I know the complexity of this issue of conditions for entry into Europe, these issues, for example, harmonization, the problem that Serbia has due to the issue of sanctions. I understand that these are difficult issues, but we are ready to discuss and help in the case of Serbia and really show a positive approach to Serbia’s aspirations,” said the American ambassador.
Hill believes that the right place for Serbia is in the European Union and that the US would like to help that country in the process of European integration, adding that he hopes that this will happen as soon as possible.
“Now Serbia is pursuing a policy of military neutrality, and I want to be clear: we absolutely respect that policy. But the Serbs may come to a different conclusion at some point,” said Hill.
Hill pointed out that “Serbia is much closer to NATO than Kosovo” because the US works with the Serbian army every day and added that he understands the problem of relations with NATO, but that Serbia needs to decide if it wants to be a part of the collective defense at some point.
“I would like to see normalcy so that people can see borders as borders that unite rather than borders that divide. I would like to see the whole region doing much better together and the whole region eventually being in the European Union,” Hill said.
In 1999, the current ambassador of the USA was a member of the delegation of diplomatic representatives of the USA, so he also gave an interview to Radio Television of Serbia on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the start of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, which is celebrated in Serbia on March 24.
On that occasion, Hill said that at that time “no one was enthusiastic about the bombing” and that there was hope that the bombing could be avoided.
“The question was to stop what has become a very bloody and increasingly bloody thing in Kosovo – to try to stop what was essentially Milosevic’s forces in Kosovo,” said Hill.
Speaking about the formation of the Union of Serbian Municipalities (USO) in Kosovo, Hill once again reminded that the formation of the USO was agreed eleven years ago and that this union is necessary because it would solve many problems.
“The community of Serbian municipalities was something that was agreed upon some 11 years ago. And our position, and actually the position of the EU, is that it must be done. The community of Serbian municipalities is necessary and would solve many of the problems we are facing,” Hill said.
On February 27 last year, Serbia and Kosovo reached an agreement on the Agreement on the Road to Normalization of Relations, while the annex to that agreement was accepted in Ohrid, which is actually a plan to implement the agreement from February, but its implementation was delayed and additional tensions were caused by the abolition of the Serbian dinar.
Thus, Serbia refuses to implement all parts of the agreement, especially the one that says it will not block Kosovo’s membership in international organizations.
Kosovo does not want to accept the formation of the Union of Serbian Municipalities because it fears that such a union could be similar to the Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti claims that the Union of Serbian Municipalities is not a priority in the normalization of relations with Serbia and insists that the Ohrid Agreement be signed, Fena news agency reports.
