U.S. ambassador hoping for pro-EU government

U.S. ambassador to Serbia Cameron Munter hopes that the new government will be pro-European. In an interview with weekly Telegraf, Munter said that he expected this not just because it was the “will of the people at the elections,” but because of people’s awareness that this was Serbia’s future. U.S. ambassador hoping for pro-EU government The ambassador said that he had no contact with Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica, by Kostunica’s own choosing, and that he did not have contact with the Radicals, out his own personal choice. “He (Kostunica) has decided, as has his part of the government, to limit contacts with me. That is not my decision, it is his,” Munter said, adding that he “is looking forward to the day when he is able to talk with the prime minister and everyone else.” Commenting on his relations with the Radicals, the U.S. ambassador said that he did not meet with them by choice, adding, however, that this was also the case with his colleagues from “European embassies.” “We have contact with parties in this country that are oriented towards a progressive future, and European ideals,” Munter said, though he acknowledged that the Radicals were an important part of the political scene in Serbia and that they had “a very large role in the country.” He added that he hoped that they would become a pro-European party one day that would stand for human rights. Munter dismissed claims that the U.S. had a pro-Albanian policy in the Balkans, responding that the U.S. had “a very strong pro-Serbian policy,” because it believed that “Serbia is very important for the region.” “Serbia will be a pillar of stability in the Balkans. At the same time, while supporting and recognizing an independent Kosovo, we support a European Serbia as well,” the ambassador said, adding that both Moscow and Washington’s goals in Serbia were very similar. He said that Serbia had “great” economic potential, and that American businessmen were very interested in Serbia, but that U.S. companies were only interested in countries that were heading in the right direction, and that were worth investing in. Munter said that in order for Serbia to be a leader in the Balkans and in this part of Europe, it had to have a stable pro-European government and be open for investments. Cameron Munter (FoNet)

U.S. ambassador hoping for pro-EU government

The ambassador said that he had no contact with Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica, by Koštunica’s own choosing, and that he did not have contact with the Radicals, out his own personal choice.

“He (Koštunica) has decided, as has his part of the government, to limit contacts with me. That is not my decision, it is his,” Munter said, adding that he “is looking forward to the day when he is able to talk with the prime minister and everyone else.”

Commenting on his relations with the Radicals, the U.S. ambassador said that he did not meet with them by choice, adding, however, that this was also the case with his colleagues from “European embassies.”

“We have contact with parties in this country that are oriented towards a progressive future, and European ideals,” Munter said, though he acknowledged that the Radicals were an important part of the political scene in Serbia and that they had “a very large role in the country.”

He added that he hoped that they would become a pro-European party one day that would stand for human rights.

Munter dismissed claims that the U.S. had a pro-Albanian policy in the Balkans, responding that the U.S. had “a very strong pro-Serbian policy,” because it believed that “Serbia is very important for the region.”

“Serbia will be a pillar of stability in the Balkans. At the same time, while supporting and recognizing an independent Kosovo, we support a European Serbia as well,” the ambassador said, adding that both Moscow and Washington’s goals in Serbia were very similar.

He said that Serbia had “great” economic potential, and that American businessmen were very interested in Serbia, but that U.S. companies were only interested in countries that were heading in the right direction, and that were worth investing in.

Munter said that in order for Serbia to be a leader in the Balkans and in this part of Europe, it had to have a stable pro-European government and be open for investments.