FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2010

CONTACT:
Jelena Cukic Matic
Press Counselor
(202) 332-0333 ext 110
jcukic@serbiaembusa.org

Senate Resolution Confirms Warming of

Relations Between Washington and Belgrade

WASHINGTON – Late Wednesday the U.S. Senate unanimously passed S. Res. 483 “Congratulating the Republic of Serbia’s application for European Union membership and recognizing Serbia’s active efforts to integrate into Europe and the global community.”

Serbia’s Ambassador in Washington, Vladimir Petrovic, welcomed the resolution. “This is further confirmation of the increasingly strong relations between Washington and Belgrade,” Petrovic said. “I am pleased that the U.S. is expressing its support for our efforts to fulfill our top foreign policy priority, joining the EU – as Serbia moves forward in taking its place in the family of democratic nations.

The resolution was authored by Senator George Voinovich (R-OH), and cosponsored by Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Richard Lugar (R-IN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Ben Cardin (D-MD).

“I congratulate my friend President Boris Tadic for his leadership on Serbia’s European aspirations. I pray that Serbia will continue on a pro-Western, democratic path, and that all Serbians will see the fruits of democracy as quickly as possible,” Sen. Voinovich said in a statement released Thursday.

“The United States strongly supports Serbia’s Trans-Atlantic aspirations and I am confident that President Tadic and his government understand what that goal requires. I believe European leaders are paying close attention to Serbia and I hope they act quickly and clearly on its membership bid,” Sen. Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in a statement released Thursday.

The resolution comes on the heels of several visits by senior leaders of both countries to each other’s capitols in recent months.

Vice-President Joe Biden traveled to Serbia last May and met with Serbia’s President Boris Tadic. During the meeting the Vice-President assured Tadic that the U.S. would “use our influence, our energy and our resources to promote Serbia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations.”

Later in 2009, Serbia’s Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic traveled to Washington and met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In February of this year Senators Voinovich and Shaheen traveled to Serbia as part of a Congressional Delegation. Approximately two weeks ago U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg also traveled to Belgrade during a broader trip to the Balkans.

In an interview in Belgrade with Serbia’s B92 news organization, Steinberg noted that “although we have differences with the government here about [Kosovo], we also have strong areas of cooperation and I think it’s important to remember how far the relationships between the U.S. and Serbia have progressed, how much we’re doing together, how strongly we’re working for Serbia’s future trying to support its integration into Europe and its membership in the EU, to support new levels of cooperation between us [on] economic, political and security fronts.”

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