Anthony Godfrey (Beta/Milos Miskov)
U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Anthony Godfrey said on April 10 that aid received from other countries to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic should not be politicized, adding that the U.S. was a major donor to Serbia.
"We are a major donor to Serbia, and we’ve also been helping it during the coronavirus crisis. We announced a donation of 6,000 tests which arrived in Belgrade on April 9. The U.S. has announced a generous aid [package] for the whole world, and Serbia will receive a part of this aid, in the amount of USD1.35 million", Godfrey said for Voice of America.
"We’ve been helping Serbia for a long time; we’ve invested more than a billion dollars [in the country] over the past two decades, and this includes a donation of medical equipment to the Nis hospital, which now, according to my knowledge, is ready to participate in COVID-19 testing", the ambassador said.
Commenting on the fact that the highest Serbian officials had welcomed Chinese and Russian aid, but not so when the U.S. was concerned, Godfrey said that any country willing to help out another should be thanked.
"I wouldn’t like to see gratitude politicized nor aid being used as a chip in the game of geopolitics", Godfrey added.
When asked about the possibility of Chinese and Russian influence growing stronger in Serbia after the pandemic, as a result of the sent aid, Godfrey responded that he was not interested in "participating in that competition".
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