Chinese president’s visit to Serbia ‘timed to increase tensions’ with West: US special envoy

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) – Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Belgrade was “timed to increase tensions” between Serbia and the Western countries, the US special representative for the Western Balkans said on Thursday.

Xi arrived in Serbia on Tuesday for his first official visit in eight years, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the bombing of China's Embassy in Belgrade.

Serbia is one of three stops of the Chinese president's European tour, which started in France and will end in Hungary.

Amid the visit, strict security measures are in place in Belgrade, and a large number of uniformed police officers are on the streets.

“The United States has said that the bombing of the Chinese embassy in 1999 was an accident. We’ve apologized. I believe we’ve actually even paid reparations to the families. I do believe that the timing of the visit was unfortunate but deliberate,” Gabriel Escobar, the US special envoy, said in an online media briefing.

He added that it is “unhealthy” to increase tensions between Serbia and the Western countries, and cautioned all partners “to be very aware of China’s agenda in Europe.”

Speaking about relations between Serbia and Russia, Escobar said that Moscow is not the cause of the problems but it takes advantage of the problems.

“It would be a mistake to look at Russia as the cause of the problems in the Balkans. Russia takes advantage of the problems in the Balkans, but the problems are those that have existed for the last 25 years. And by resolving the problems, I think we close off the opportunities for Russia to make mischief in the region,” he added.

Escobar expressed hope for Western Balkans countries to continue their path to the EU.

China and Serbia signed 28 cooperation documents on Wednesday following a meeting between visiting Xi and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic.

A large crowd gathered on the plateau in front of the Palace of Serbia to welcome Xi, waving Chinese and Serbian flags.