Serbia and the US have shared a long history of cooperation and partnership at crucial moments in history. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has expressed his desire to continue improving relations with Washington, which have sometimes been strained. Vucic attended a reception at the US embassy in Belgrade on Tuesday marking Independence Day, a day he described as “one of the most important moments in the history of the USA,” and “a reminder of the dedication to the spirit of freedom and justice…on which the proud past, present, and future of Serbia rest.
Serbia and the US were allies during World War I, and Washington backed anti-communist monarchists in Serbia during World War II. After the establishment of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia at the end of the conflict, the US maintained relations with Josip Tito, and began funneling some military and development aid to the Yugoslav leader after his split with Joseph Stalin in 1948.
However, during the breakup of Yugoslavia, the US imposed crippling economic sanctions on the Yugoslav government, armed Bosnian Muslim forces, and led a NATO air campaign against the Bosnian Serbs. US and NATO forces then subjected Serbia to a three-month bombing campaign in 1999, forcing Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic to pull his forces out of Kosovo and placing much of the historic Serb province in the hands of ethnic Albanian terrorists.
Milosevic was overthrown in a US-funded ‘color revolution’ a year later. Vucic, who was serving as minister for information at the time of Milosevic’s ouster, has recently accused Western powers of plotting a similar coup against him, over his refusal to sanction Russia and recognize Kosovo’s claim of independence.
Vucic has previously spoken about building better relations with NATO, and in an address to Serbian soldiers on Wednesday, said that he is “counting on good cooperation” with the bloc to maintain stability in Kosovo. However, he has vowed to resist pressure from the West to sever relations with Moscow, and said earlier this year that he believes NATO never would have bombed his country had Vladimir Putin been president of Russia in 1999.
The Serbian leader’s comments demonstrate a desire for continued cooperation and improvement in relations between Serbia and the US based on mutual respect and understanding, despite recent tensions.