Djuric: Serbia Closely Monitoring Venezuela Events, Will Not Make Hasty Decisions

Marko Djuric (BETAPHOTO/Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric stated on Jan. 8 that Serbia was closely monitoring the events in Venezuela, but that it had no capacity to solve the conflicts of such proportion and could harm itself by making hasty decisions.

“That is why the wisest position for Serbia at this time is to fully understand what is happening in the world – and that is a global re-composition of power. The creation of a new order is now taking place in practice and new rules will only be in place after a new equilibrium is established. We must be aware of that in order to not pay a price,” Djuric told TV Prva. He said that Serbia could “harm itself if it rushed with declaring opinions (about major world clashes),” and that it was actively working on preserving stability in international relations.

The minister also commented on relations between Serbia and the U.S., which he described as being “in Serbia’s long-term national interest.” “A whole branch of our people lives there (in the U.S.). There are nowadays more people of Serb origin in America than in Republika Srpska. It is very important that we continue developing relations with the people of Serb origin there,” Djuric said, adding that the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump was not interfering in Serbia’s fundamental matters.

He said that the U.S. sanctions against the Serbian Oil Industry (NIS) “did affect Serbia, but it is a fact that a request for postponing the sanctions has been granted” and that “not everything is as gloomy as some wish to present it.”