Djuric: We have done everything in our power to present Serbia's position on NIS at US State Dept

WASHINGTON - Serbian FM Marko Djuric said on Tuesday evening that, during his official visit to Washington, the US State Department was the most important place for discussions about the energy sector and the situation regarding Serbia's Russian majority-owned oil company NIS - which is under US sanctions - and noted that his team had done everything in its power to present its arguments and the reasons why Serbia did not deserve to suffer as a result of decisions that were outside of its domain and had to do with relations between big powers.

Responding to questions from reporters, Djuric said he had spoken with US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau at the State Department on Monday, the first day of the official visit.

"I am grateful to him for receiving me, for the opportunity to explain Serbia's position. I think that they took our arguments into account very seriously - in the coming days, we will see how that will be reflected in their positions. Therefore, that is a decision they have to make, and I can only say we have really done everything in our power to present our arguments," Djuric said after a series of meetings with US Congress and Senate members.

He said he believed Landau had understood the significance of that topic for Serbia.

For Serbia, it is strategically important to strengthen the Serbian caucus in the US and constantly have a "critical mass of friends" in the US legislature, he said.

"Last night, we had a long meeting and a discussion with Ms Claudia Tenney. Today, we had discussions with Congressman Self and with Brian Mast, we also had a meeting with some new Congress members from Carolina and with Senator Shaheen. Our discussions will be continued in full swing to present, in the right way, Serbia's policy and what is really going on in our region," Djuric said.

He said he was pleased Serbian Minister for European Integration Nemanja Starovic and the head of the Office for Public and Cultural Diplomacy Arnaud Gouillon had accompanied him in Washington on Tuesday.

"Serbia is actively lobbying for our position at many levels in Washington, and that is what our national interest is - to make Serbia's voice and influence heard more loudly here," Djuric noted.

He also said Serbia strongly supported US President Donald Trump's peace initiative for Ukraine.

Speaking about his meetings in Washington earlier in the day, Djuric said the Serbian delegation had held discussions with top officials of the US House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as with members of other committees in the US Congress.

"It is very significant for us to present Serbia in the appropriate light, as a country that is growing, developing and wants good cooperation with the US, and to present the Serbs as a proud nation that suffered many casualties for the Allied cause in two world wars and, in that sense, we deserve support and understanding for various topics," Djuric said.

He said NIS and the energy sector had not been the only topic discussed.

"Here, we also discussed the position of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija and explained, in great detail, the situation concerning the position of our people and our church, since the position of Christians is a particularly current topic among Republican members of the Congress - we informed them of what our monastics and our church are going through," Djuric said.

He said the delegation had also presented the latest information on what Serbia had done in the past several months to contribute to regional stability and to better, more normal relations.

"In a way, we also stopped a flood of false information decision-makers in Washington - Congress and Senate members - are being inundated by from other political centres in the region," Djuric said, adding that a pro-Serbian lobby was something Belgrade was building "thoroughly and seriously."

On Tuesday, Djuric also met with Congressman Pete Harrigan, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Earlier Djuric spoke with Congressman William Keating, the highest-ranking Democratic representative in the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Congressman Brian Mast, who chairs the committee.

In the statement to reporters, Djuric also commented on reports by Pristina-based media outlets that Pristina's central electoral commission had not verified a Srpska lista electoral list for the December 28 parliamentary polls in Kosovo-Metohija, and noted that it was completely unacceptable for a political organisation that evidently enjoyed the highest degree of legitimacy among Kosovo-Metohija Serbs to be denied the right to take part in the election process.

"That demonstrates not only an absence of democratic capacity, but also a completely unacceptable attitude towards an entire national community, but, coming from the Kurti regime, that is no surprise," he said.

Djuric meets with US Congressman Schneider

WASHINGTON - Serbian FM Marko Djuric, who is on a visit to Washington, told US Congressman and member of the Serbian Caucus Brad Schneider that Serbia sought to build an even more intensive political dialogue and economic partnership with the US based on shared interests and values.

Djuric said that "establishment of a strategic dialogue would provide additional momentum for strengthening comprehensive cooperation across a wide range of areas of mutual interest," the Serbian MFA said in a statement.

"A particular focus of the discussion was the importance of the Serbian community in the US and its potential to further deepen ties between the two countries. Minister Djuric underlined the importance of US support in the process of normalising relations between Belgrade and Pristina, noting that this process has been seriously hindered by unilateral actions of the Pristina authorities and the ongoing pressure campaign targeting the Serb community in Kosovo-Metohija," it also said.

Djuric and Schneider also discussed the challenges Serbia was facing over its Russian-majority owned oil company NIS - which is under US sanctions - as well as steps Serbia was undertaking to "resolve the situation as favourably as possible in the near future."