The Ambassador of the United States of America in Belgrade, H.E. Christopher Hill, answered the questions that citizens asked him on social media.
Ambassador Hill stated, among other things, that the representatives of Belgrade and Pristina, who have fairly good mediators from the EU in the dialogue, must do more in resolving the disputed issues, and added that he honestly thinks that there is a greater possibility for real progress in the dialogue than for a new conflict 1 September.
U.S. Ambassador said this in response to one of nearly 400 questions and comments on Twitter and Facebook from citizens, which asked if there was a possibility of another conflict on the administrative line on September 1 (due to the license plate agreement), and if the answer is “yes”, how does the embassy prepare for such a scenario.
“I honestly think that there is a greater possibility for real progress in the dialogue than for problems. It is obvious that Belgrade and Pristina need to do more in solving disputed issues. The EU are very good mediators, and the USA is also very active”, answered Ambassador Hill, who launched a new initiative three days ago and called on citizens to communicate directly with him and ask him questions on Facebook and Twitter.
When asked why the US supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but not Serbia, he says that he understands the question and why itvwas being asked, but added that the situation in Ukraine is completely different.
“At the end of the day, we are talking about a neighbor (Russia) attacked Ukraine, its civilians and continues to bombard its cities. Ukraine really had to fight against these absolutely malicious attack by Russia that continues today,” ambassador Hill said, adding that he would therefore be very careful when comparing the situation in Ukraine with the one a few decades ago.
Upon reminding one of the citizens that Serbia is the only country in Europe that does not impose sanctions on Russia and that regardless of this it has the support of the USA, and the question of whether such a relationship will remain in the future, the ambassador emphasizes that it is important that the USA and Serbia try to work together on important issues.
“Serbia has a different attitude from its European partners, but I think it is important that we concentrate on the things we agree on and try to move forward together,” Hill said.
When asked about his thoughts on when will Serbia join NATO, Ambassador Hill answered:
“The key part of the answer is – when the people in Serbia want to join NATO. We have great respect for Serbia, its army and leadership, and we would like to see it not only as a friend and partner, but also as an ally”.
Finally, the Ambassador was asked what NFL team he supports.
“I’ve been rooting for the New England Patriots from my hometown since I was little. It’s a tough year ahead for the team because the competition is strong, but I’ll always be rooting for them,” Ambassador Hill said.