Congressman Wilson: Serbian Minister's Disgusting Statement Disqualifies Belgrade from Hosting OSCE Assembly

US Congressman Joe Wilson has reacted sharply to the statement of the Serbian Minister of Public Administration and Local Self-Government, Snezhana Paunovic, who told Serbian television Kurir that, if she had been in Slobodan Milosevic's place in 1998, she "would have ethnically cleansed Kosovo."

Wilson described these statements as "disgusting and inflammatory," emphasizing that they are the reason why the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE PA) should not consider Belgrade's candidacy to host the organization's annual meeting in 2027.

"For precisely this reason, the OSCE PA should not consider Belgrade's offer to host the 2027 annual meeting," Wilson wrote.

According to the American congressman, the OSCE was created to build consensus and strengthen cooperation in Europe, not to reignite ethnic tensions.

"The OSCE was created to build consensus in Europe, not to reignite ethnic tensions," he declared.

Paunović – vice-chairwoman of the Socialist Party of Serbia, Milošević's former party – did not retract her words, but said on July 16 that they were "taken out of context" and apologized to Vučić and the Serbian government for the reactions they caused.

Her statements touch on old wounds in Kosovo, as hundreds of thousands of Albanian civilians were expelled from Kosovo during the 1998-1999 war.

That war took the lives of over 13.000 civilians, mostly Albanians, while thousands more remained missing.

Over 1.500 people, mostly Albanians, are still missing.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague named the then leaders of the FRY as key participants in a “joint criminal enterprise” aimed at the forcible expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Albanian civilians from Kosovo in 1999.

According to the verdicts, the goal was to “change the ethnic balance to maintain Serbian control over Kosovo.”

The main defendant, Slobodan Milosevic, died in custody before the trial ended, while former Serbian President Milan Milutinovic was found not guilty.

Paunović's statement has been condemned inside and outside Kosovo./The GeoPost.

These disgusting and inflammatory remarks by a leader in the Serbian government is precisely why @oscepa should not consider Belgrade's bid to host the 2027 annual meeting. The OSCE is designed to build consensus in Europe, not reignite ethnic tensions. #Charleston2027...

— Joe Wilson (@RepJoeWilson) July 21, 2026