Three blows to Vučić in just a few months

Serbia’s foreign policy has suffered three serious diplomatic setbacks in a period of just one and a half months, international relations experts assess, as Western and other international actors have reacted to the country’s internal and external developments.

First, Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump, withdrew from a project to build a luxury hotel on the site of the former General Staff headquarters in Belgrade.

At the same time, Russia has deepened the crisis surrounding Serbia’s Oil Industry (NIS), failing to clarify whether—and to whom—it will sell its ownership stake. As a result, the United States imposed sanctions.

In early November, the European Commission published an increasingly harsh report on the situation in Serbia.

Former diplomat Srećko Đukić assesses that recent moves by the European Union, the United States, and Russia indicate that Serbian foreign policy is at a dead end, sending a clear message that Serbia needs a complete political reset and new elections, as the current government lacks the capacity to offer new ideas.

According to analysts, Kushner decided to withdraw from the investment due to ongoing student and civic protests. The project, which included the construction of a luxury hotel, had been seen as a key pillar of the Serbian government’s efforts to attract major foreign investment, making the withdrawal a significant blow to those ambitions.

This development came on the same day that the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime filed charges against several officials, including the minister of culture and directors of heritage protection institutions, in a case related to the “General Staff” project.

Foreign analysts emphasize that these moves point to increased pressure on the government of Aleksandar Vučić, both from the West and through complications involving foreign investors, placing Belgrade in what is often described as a “foreign policy bottleneck.”

Beyond investment-related setbacks, the European Commission’s report on Serbia published in early November was described as one of the harshest in the past decade, containing direct criticism over the rule of law, media freedom, and the fight against corruption.

One of the diplomats and former foreign policy analysts, Srećko Đukić, stated that recent developments underscore the need for a full political restart in Serbia, suggesting that the current leadership is unable to deliver new ideas and solutions to the challenges facing the country, reports Nova.