Rubio warns Belgrade: Serbia is involved in "potentially explosive" issues

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stated that Serbia is involved in issues that could be "problematic and explosive."

Answering questions from reporters before leaving the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Rubio also spoke about US-Serbian relations and developments that, according to him, are attracting the attention of the international community.

"It is clear that Serbia is involved in certain issues that are potentially problematic and explosive, and that are attracting international attention," he said.

The US Secretary of State said that Serbia has already been visited by representatives of the State Department and other US government agencies.

Meanwhile, in August, Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the US House of Representatives introduced a bill calling on Washington to take measures against Serbia due to what the document described as “serious obstacles” to democracy and the rule of law, as well as Belgrade’s cooperation with Russia, China and Iran.

In the draft law, the authors also referred to the US State Department's 2024 Human Rights Report and the European Parliament's 2025 Report on Serbia, citing concerns regarding the rule of law, judicial independence, media freedom, and corruption.

Serbia and the impasse on the path to the EU

Serbia, although a candidate country for membership in the European Union, has not opened a new negotiation chapter for almost five years.

At the heart of European concerns are the insufficient progress in the rule of law and the complete disregard for the EU's demand for the alignment of Serbia's foreign policy with that of the Union.

After the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, Belgrade did not join the EU's policy of sanctions against Moscow, maintaining a close political and economic relationship with Russia.

This issue has become one of the main obstacles in Serbia's European integration process, while European institutions have also raised concerns about the state of democracy and the rule of law in the country.

Congressman Wilson calls for OSCE meeting to be moved

In recent weeks, Serbia has faced yet another pressure from Washington.

US Congressman Joe Wilson has proposed that the annual meeting of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly be moved from Serbia to South Carolina.

Wilson has linked his proposal to what he has described as Russian President Vladimir Putin's "excessive influence" in Serbia.

This initiative has opened a new debate in Washington regarding Belgrade's relations with Moscow and the orientation of Serbian foreign policy.

Washington is also paying attention to Serbia's relationship with Iran.

Official Belgrade has maintained friendly relations with Tehran, despite international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program and other human rights issues.

In July, Serbian Minister of Information and Telecommunications, Boris Bratina, was among the few European representatives to attend the funeral of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The GeoPost