Trump says all involved in US election theft will be punished – eyes on Vučić again

US President Donald Trump, during his stay in Davos at the World Economic Forum, declared that "all those who participated in the theft of the 2020 election, where, as he claims, his victory was stolen through Dominion machines, will be brought to justice."

And so, practically, he deepened the "conflict" with Serbia again because the company that controlled the vote at that time was connected to Belgrade.

While political analyst Dusan Janjic says that "an IP address from Serbia is being used for the anti-Trump campaign," foreign policy commentator Boško Jaksić emphasizes for Nova that this very topic is the most sensitive and perhaps the biggest obstacle in the relationship between Washington and Belgrade.

On Wednesday, the World Economic Forum was held in Davos, which, in addition to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, was also attended by US President Donald Trump.

His arrival and speech were marked by harsh messages addressed to Europe, Denmark, as well as several allies within the NATO alliance.

Then, unexpectedly, Trump touched on the issue of the theft of the 2020 US elections, to which Belgrade was linked.

"All those involved in the theft of the 2020 election, when my victory was stolen through Dominion machines, will be brought to justice. The investigation is nearing completion," Trump said from the podium.

The connection between Serbia and Vučić

Precisely due to the fact that during the 2020 US presidential election, in which Joseph Biden won, the company "Dominion Voting Systems", which has its European headquarters in Belgrade, was hired to count the votes.

At the time, Trump supporters linked the then-president's defeat to that company, claiming that people from Serbia were behind it.

Speaking about this, political analyst Dusan Janjic told Beta agency that he considers the Security and Information Agency (BIA) and Aleksandar Vučić responsible for the election manipulation, and that after the US president's speech in Davos, it is absolutely clear that the investigation into election manipulation is ongoing and that it also includes Belgrade.

"So far, there have been several reports of the launch of an investigation into the theft of the US presidential election, through social networks, and that an IP address from Serbia was used for the anti-Trump campaign. This has not been confirmed so far, but after President Trump's speech in Davos yesterday, it is now absolutely clear that the investigation is ongoing and that it also includes Belgrade," Janjic said.

“The question is how far the investigation will go and whether it will also include Aleksandar Vučić, who controls everything in Serbia. It would be a very difficult situation for Vučić, because it would look like one country is committing a cybercriminal act against another country, in this case against the US for the position of president. Who will be included in the criminal prosecution will be decided by the US Attorney.”

"The history of election manipulation is the most sensitive"

On the other hand, foreign policy commentator Boško Jaksić tells Nova that the history of election manipulation in the US is the most sensitive and that it is perhaps the biggest obstacle to a real rapprochement and partnership between Washington and Belgrade.

"Trump is very vindictive and we saw this through a series of moves that followed after May last year. Vučić's attempt to enter the donors' dinner. After that, Vučić was not invited to the photo session of 145 world leaders who, with Trump, become the United Nations General Assembly. The American ambassador was summoned, who was supposed to represent a good service. Customs tariffs were imposed on Serbia, and the one of 35 percent, which is the highest in the region," says our interlocutor and emphasizes:

“The pressure was also around the General Staff, which Jared Kushner certainly doesn’t like because he lost that job. Of course, this also contributes to some cooling, but when the line is drawn, despite everything, this looks like an offer from the Americans to bring Serbia closer to Washington and further away from Europe. I think it’s an offer that should be rejected at all costs.”

Jaksic estimates that, after the statement of Trump's envoy for special missions, Richard Grenell, in which he said that our country should turn to the United States and leave the European Union, it became clear that the administration in Washington sees Serbia as part of the so-called "Western Hemisphere".

"And it will be managed and controlled by Donald Trump. What does that mean? Well, it means absolute obedience to Trump and all his demands. Whether they have to do with natural resources or political persuasion, it is a big challenge for Serbian diplomacy, because we see that Serbia has not managed to harmonize its foreign policy with the policy of the European Union on many issues. So the challenge is whether it is ready to obey everything that Trump would ask of it," Jaksic concludes.

Serbia was not invited to Trump's "Committee for Peace"

In the sea of ​​information that has burdened the already complex relations between Serbia and the United States in recent months, the fact that Serbia was not invited to Trump's "Committee for Peace" draws additional attention.

According to American media, in January, Donald Trump sent invitations to leaders of about 60 countries around the world to join this body.

Several countries have already confirmed their participation, some are still considering the invitation, while France immediately announced that it was rejecting it.

However, Serbia is not on the guest list, while Kosovo received an invitation.

The "failed" dinner with Trump

Relations between Belgrade and Washington have been on "troubled feet" for almost a year now, and the turning point was the Serbian president's attempt to attend Donald Trump's Republican National Committee donor dinner, which he tried to enter under a false name.

Specifically, Vučić visited the United States in May of last year with the stated aim of presenting the current situation in Serbia to the American president. However, this meeting never took place. Moreover, the Serbian President did not meet with any of the prominent representatives of the Republicans on that occasion.

Shortly after, information emerged that Vučić, allegedly due to deteriorating health, ended his stay in the US and returned to Serbia.

The media reported that he fell ill during his stay in Florida, after which he urgently left the country, which was interpreted as a withdrawal without establishing political contacts.

The issue of the “General Staff”

However, this was only the beginning of a further cooling of relations. The affair around the General Staff further deepened tensions when it was announced that Affinity Partners, the investment firm of Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, was to build a hotel at that location on Nemanja Street.

Not long after, Kushner’s company pulled out of the Trump Hotel project in Belgrade after the project sparked public outcry and led to a lawsuit by Culture Minister Nikola Selakovic. At the time, Affinity Partners announced that it was pulling out “out of respect for the people of Serbia and Belgrade,” explaining that “important projects should unite, not divide.”

However, as the New York Times wrote, the fact that the decision to withdraw came immediately after allegations against senior government officials of corruption related to the project made the entire deal very risky and compromising for Kushner's company.

Such an assessment contradicted President Vučić's explanation, which shifted responsibility for the project's failure to the citizens and media who publicly opposed it.

Let us recall that in an attempt to present himself as a relevant actor of the World Economic Forum, Vučić participated in one of the panels with the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and on that occasion he boasted that no one had been to Davos as many times as him and that this was his 12th participation.

"This is my 12th time, 12th time in Davos. I'm a veteran here. There are no people here who have been so many times. To be honest, I've never seen so many people... People don't applaud anyone because they are worried about their future. Company representatives, state leaders, prime ministers, members of governments... And no one rejoices, no one laughs because they don't know what tomorrow will bring to their countries," Vučić said and added proudly:

"Now, I think, I'm one of the 80 people in the world who has been invited more than 10 times, and I'm always invited and announced as the main guest of the Balkans."

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