Christopher Hill: One of the reasons for our concern in cooperation with Serbia is Russia’s behavior because we don’t know what’s next

The American ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, speaking about the solution to the Kosovo problem, said that whether it is in this century or the next, “Serbs will wake up and see that Albanians are in the south” and that is why, as he said, he hopes that normalization will be achieved in the meantime in order to continue with the things that are important to average people.

Hill was quoted by RTV as saying today that Serbia is in specific circumstances when it comes to imposing sanctions on Russia, mainly due to its heavy dependence on Russian energy, and that it is a complex picture that it could only be said “join the sanctions”.

“If it was only up to us, and not up to Serbia, we would say you have to join the sanctions, but we understand that there are specific circumstances for Serbia,” Hill said when asked how EU sanctions against Russia could affect Serbia if it does not make decisions faster.

He expressed the expectation that he will “have Serbia by his side”, and noted that everything starts with energy independence and that Serbia should have different choices.

“I’m sure that in the future it will be okay for Serbia to have the choice to take gas from Russia, it’s not okay now and that’s why Serbia should be helped with that choice,” Hill said.

When asked about solving the Kosovo problem, Hill said that whether it is in this century or the next, “Serbs when they wake up will see that the Albanians are in the south” and that is why, as he said, he hopes that normalization will be achieved in the meantime in order to continue with things which are important to average people.

Hill said that Western countries are asking Belgrade and Pristina to stick to the process of dialogue and try to reduce tensions and make room for them to talk to each other in order to reach normal relations.

When asked whether the Kosovo case can be compared with the case of Ukrainian territories annexed to Russia, Hill said that there are not many similarities, because Ukraine is in a different position.

“Ukraine’s neighbor, Russia, is attacking Ukraine and its civilians and meanwhile annexing its territories.” We haven’t seen such things since the beginning of the 20th century”, noted Hill and assessed that this is a different situation than the one related to Kosovo that happened 23 years ago.

When asked how many benefits Serbia can get in cooperation with Western countries in the field of energy, Hill said that Serbia needs a booster in this.

“One of the reasons for our concern in cooperation with Serbia now is Russia’s behavior because we don’t know what’s next.” What Putin has done with Russia is a different Russia than the one I remember. It is no longer the country that has the greatest poetry, numerous Nobel laureates, … this is a different kind of Russia, and I think that we must be prepared for that and that the best form of preparation is for us all to work together even closer,” said Hill.

When asked what would be the best decision Serbia could make in this situation, Hill said it would be best to connect with Western countries, to focus on what can be done now and continue in that direction.

“The United States really wants to stand beside Serbia, which we see as a historical friend, partner, and depending on what Serbia does, it may become our ally in the future, but that will be a question for Serbia.”/Danas