Djuric: Vucic's phone call with Trump reflects results achieved by Serbia

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Marko Djuric said on Tuesday the fact President Aleksandar Vucic had been one of the first to speak with US President-elect Donald Trump following his election win was very important for Serbia and reflected the results achieved by the country in recent years.

Djuric said Vucic's phone call with Trump was "no coincidence" but a result of the fact Serbia had a "fantastic and unique story to tell" after focusing on infrastructural development and regional relations in the past decade.

"With a responsible attitude, it has stood out from a myriad of small ethno-nationalist leaders who are now making acrimonious comments about Serbia being the first to have established contact with the US," Djuric told Pink TV.

He said Trump's election win had inspired a great deal of hope across the region, as well as in many places in the world where regional relations and crises needed to be resolved and tensions defused.

He said a visit to Serbia by Trump had been one of the topics of the phone call.

Djuric noted Jimmy Carter had been the last US president to visit Belgrade 44 years ago.

"I am certain President Trump would be given a better welcome in Belgrade than in any other city or capital in the region," he said, adding that Serbia had a great willingness to have a mutually respectful relationship with the US, to advance economic cooperation and to cooperate on resolving regional issues.