US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in New York that his country “wants to deepen” its strategic partnership with Serbia, expressed hope that he would “have the opportunity” to visit it, but also noted that Serbia is involved in “potentially problematic and explosive issues that are attracting international attention”, reports Radio Free Europe.
“It is clear that Serbia is involved in certain issues that are potentially problematic and explosive, and that are attracting international attention,” the US Secretary of State said, RFE/RL reports.
He also stated that the US “wants to deepen” its strategic partnership with Serbia, adding: “And we intend to do so while at the same time addressing potential problems that could arise, which I know deeply concern Serbia itself.”
He mentioned that officials from the State Department and other government agencies have already visited Serbia.
“I hope I have the opportunity to visit her too,” Rubio said.
In July, the US and Serbia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Energy Infrastructure and Regional Energy Security as part of the Strategic Dialogue process held in Washington.
The meeting between American and Serbian officials was opened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, RFE/RL reminds.
In August, however, Republican and Democratic members of the US House of Representatives submitted a bill requesting the US to take measures against Serbia due to “serious setbacks” in democracy and the rule of law, as well as cooperation with Russia, China and Iran.
According to the draft law, Serbia is experiencing serious setbacks in the area of democracy, as reflected in the 2024 Human Rights Report and the 2025 European Parliament Report on Serbia, which cite significant problems with the rule of law, judicial independence, media freedom, and corruption.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Joe Wilson, stated that Serbia under President Aleksandar Vučić “has deliberately moved further and further away from the rule of law and closer to enemies of freedom such as the war criminal Putin, the Communist Party of China, and the terrorist regime in Tehran,” RFE/RL writes.
Although it is a candidate for membership in the European Union, Serbia has not opened a single new negotiation chapter in the accession process for almost five years, due, among other things, to insufficient progress in the area of the rule of law, but also to the failure to harmonize its foreign policy with the EU.
Two months after the opening of the last chapter, the war in Ukraine began, and Serbia did not follow the EU and imposed sanctions on Russia.
This, writes RFE/RL, was the key reason for the stalled accession negotiations, and in the meantime, there has been a deterioration in the rule of law.
Recently, Congressman Wilson proposed that the annual meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly be moved from Serbia to South Carolina, explaining that his primary reason for such a proposal was the “excessive influence” of Russian President Vladimir Putin in Serbia.
Official Belgrade has maintained friendly relations with Iran in recent years, despite the country being under international sanctions due to nuclear activities and human rights violations.
Serbian Minister of Information and Telecommunications Boris Bratina was among the few European representatives at the funeral of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in July, RFE/RL reports.
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