Hill: There’s Only One Path for Serbia to the West, and EU

U.S. ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

U.S. ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill said that in life choices had to be made and that this was one such moment for Serbia, ahead of which there lied only one path, to the West and the European Union (EU).

“Unlike the past, when there was a belief in Serbia that there might be a third way, that Serbia was neither the East nor the West, that it’s somehow special, and was travelling a road of its own, most Serbs now think that there’s only a right way and a wrong way, and are willing to chose the right one,” Hill said for the Politika newspaper.

He went on to say in the interview that Ukraine and Kosovo “are two very different situations,” suggesting that what happened in Kosovo in 1999 should not be linked with what was going on in Ukraine today.

“When it comes to Kosovo and Serbia, they are two neighboring countries. Serbs live in Kosovo, and many things in Kosovo matter to Serbia. Good neighbors need to sort things out. The right way to do it is the EU-mediated dialogue and talks in Brussels,” Ambassador Hill said.

Serbian Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin replied to the ambassador that Serbia was a free and successful country, and that it would take its own path and recommended that the ambassador “go and rule those who let him.”

“The ambassador’s arrogance reminds us that Hill was the executor of a policy of sanctions, rape and bombing in both Republika Srpska and Serbia. He obviously doesn’t see any problem there or feels guilty about it,” Vulin said in a written statement.