Serbian leader speaks to Trump, pointing out Serb support during US election

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic said he spoke with Donald Trump late Sunday, inviting him to visit the Balkan country while pointing out that in Serbia the U.S. president-elect had the highest level of support of all European states during the election campaign.

The populist Serbian leader said the phone call was “very cordial” and added that Trump “knew many things about Serbia.” He expressed hope the ties between Serbia and the United States will “further improve in all areas” during the next Trump administration.

Vucic said on Instagram he "expressed hope that he (Trump) would visit Serbia, because Serbia is a country where support for the election of President Trump was the largest in all of Europe.”

Vucic and other Serbian leaders had openly supported Trump during the campaign, hoping his Balkan policies would shift from the previous U.S. administration’s efforts to keep in check the expansionist goals of Serbian nationalists against neighboring states.

Although formally seeking European Union membership, Serbia has refused to introduce international sanctions against its traditional Slavic ally Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Serbia has avoided major criticism in the West by reportedly supplying Ukraine with weapons that are exported through third countries.

Vucic said Trump thanked him for the support he received from the Serbian people and expressed his belief that he will be able to discuss further improvement of relations between the two countries in all fields with Trump in the coming period.

Serbia had maintained close relation with Trump’s associates even during Joe Biden’s administration.

Earlier this year, the Serbian government approved a multi-million-dollar contract with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner on plans to build a luxury hotel on the site of the former defense ministry in Belgrade. The downtown building was bombed during a NATO-led military intervention to stop a bloody Serb crackdown against Kosovo Albanian separatists in 1999.

The project, which has caused a lot of controversy in Serbia, was reportedly proposed to Kushner by a former Trump aide and Balkan envoy, Richard Grenell, who is said to be destined for high office in the new Trump administration.

Vucic decorated Grenell with a high medal of honor in 2023 for “distinguished merit in developing and strengthening peaceful cooperation and friendly relations between Serbia and the U.S..”