“Serbia is also among the countries that, given our background and given that we are friends with all parties involved, offer their good offices and try, if necessary or if there is interest, to organize talks on how to put an end to this terrible tragedy, which has led to so many deaths and so much destruction,” the Foreign Minister said.
He said the war in Ukraine must end immediately. “Serbia supports in principle the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states in line with their UN borders,” including Ukraine.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric meet at the Department of State in Washington, DC on August 6, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
The secretary of state’s offer to host peace talks between Ukraine and Russia comes after a proposed summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary was suspended.
Some analysts say Serbia would be a surprising choice to host the next round of ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Serbia, given the historical ties Russia and Serbia share, rooted in cultural and religious ties through the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with President Donald Trump in Washington DC, on August 19, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
While Serbia has joined UN resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and referendums annexing parts of Ukrainian territory, Belgrade has refused to join Western sanctions on Russia over the invasion. Still, Djuric points out that both Ukraine and Russia support Serbia’s territorial integrity regarding Kosovo.
Djuric was in New York for a United Nations Security Council meeting on Kosovo. In 1999, a nearly three-month NATO bombing campaign ended a war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. Serbian forces were expelled, but Belgrade still considers Kosovo a Serbian province.
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Some European officials have questioned Serbia’s commitment to European unity. Foreign Minister Djuric countered that Serbia values its place in Europe between East and West, but also pointed out the country’s close relationship with the US.
“Serbia is very proud of its independent foreign and security policy, which is deeply rooted in our nation’s history and has allowed us to remain independent for centuries, even though we are small,” he said. “We attach great importance to the growth of our strategic partnership with the United States, on which there is bipartisan consensus in this country,” he said.
President Donald Trump (R) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) hold a meeting at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Djuric continued: “We attach great importance to the growth of our strategic partnership with the United States, on which there is a bipartisan consensus in this country. But we must also keep in mind that President Trump is by far the most popular foreign leader in our country and the most popular leader for Serbs. I mean, compared to all other European countries, President Trump’s popularity in Serbia is unparalleled. More than 71% of Serbs have a very positive opinion of the US. president and his policies, which really provides a very fertile ground for the further growth of our relationship.”
Still, Serbia’s ties with China, widely seen as the United States’ main economic and military competitor on the world stage, have caused some concern in Washington.
The US recently imposed sanctions on Russian oil company Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), the main supplier of oil and gasoline to Serbia.
China carried out military exercises in Serbia in July despite stern warnings from the European Union, and Belgrade gives Beijing a security foothold in Europe. Serbia has also purchased medium- and short-range surface-to-air missile systems from China.
Beijing’s greatest penetration into Serbia is in the economic sphere, as it has invested more than $10 billion in infrastructure projects over the past fifteen years, according to the Center for European Policy Analysis.
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“I must also admit that we have very good economic relations with China, and China also supports our position on Kosovo in the sense that it recognizes Serbia and its UN borders. So they, as a member of the UN Security Council, are also an important partner for us,” Djuric said.
Djuric said that US-China great power competition is “above the pay scale of a small Balkan country” and that the Serbian government will continue to focus on its economic development.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd from left) and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (3rd from right) hold a bilateral meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on September 4, 2025. (Lintao Zhang/POOL/AFP/Getty images)
Domestically, Serbia has been rocked by student-led anti-corruption protests for almost a year, demanding justice and accountability following the deaths of 16 people in the collapse of a train station in the Serbian city of Novi Sad. Critics across the European Union have called on Serbian security forces to launch a heavy-handed response against the demonstrators.
Djuric said he wants to engage in honest dialogue with protesters and find a way to de-escalate tensions.
Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric speaks during a joint press conference with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto after their meeting at the latter’s office in Budapest, Hungary, May 17, 2024. (Tamas Purger/MTI via AP)
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“We treat the views of our citizens who disagree with the government with respect, and I do not want to label any of them in any way. I believe that we are mature enough to have a dignified, decent, democratic dialogue, and we will always stand up for democracy in Serbia,” Djuric said.
He continued: “The Serbian government has shown responsibility in the aftermath of the tragedy that took place in Novi Sad. Ministers have been replaced. Some of them have been summoned, taken to task and even imprisoned. Since then, we have changed the government and we have Professor [Djuro] Macut, our current Prime Minister, in government, a university professor, and President Vucic’s vision remains to unite the Serbian people, overcome political divisions and create a society based on dialogue and social cohesion instead of polarization.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
