Vucic Says He Knows Trump’s Inner Circle Personally

General Staff Building in Belgrade (Photo: PrintScreen YouTube)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Nov. 22 that he knew many people in the newly elected U.S. president, Donald Trump’s inner circle, and that he had met with Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner at least 30 times.

Speaking to reporters at the opening of The Open Balkan Wine Vision fair in Belgrade, Vucic said that the number of contacts with the former U.S. special presidential envoy for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, Richard Grenell, could be approximately the same. There’s a chance that Grenell might be appointed Secretary of State in the new U.S. administration.

When asked if Trump’s victory would strengthen support for the Open Balkan initiative, Vucic said he expected it could in the long run. "He is a man focused on economy, on connecting people, and on showing respect for what generates profit and unites people. I am certain of that, knowing many people in his inner circle," Vucic said.

Jared Kushner's company, Affinity Global Development, is expected to revitalize the General Staff building complex, for which it signed a contract with the Serbian government, which has recently revoked the building's status as a cultural monument. Activists and opposition politicians claim that the General Staff building, bombed during NATO’s 1999 aggression against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, will be replaced with hotels and residential spaces, while only a small portion will be become a memorial center.