U.S. Senator for Vucinqi: Narrative is similar to Putin's vision

Menandez, unlike the senator of the Democratic Party from the state of New Jersey, chaired the hearing of American Department of Foreign Affairs officials Derek Chollet and Gabriel Escobar on the situation in the Western Balkans (Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and Northern Macedonia).

In the opening address for the negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia, he said he does not believe all the acters are acting equally in trust, Television broadcasts.

The senator stated that “Vucciki is saying something else to Western leaders, while another thing to the Serbian people through state-controlled media”.

For 69-year-old, there is a similarity between the rhetoric of Serbian leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin, reports Clix. ba.

“Controling information and undermining civil society, Vuciq continues to advance the Serbian national narrator for the large Serbian nation, which resembles Putin's vision of a large Russia”, he stressed.

The American lawmaker recalled the close ties between the Serbian president and Russian counterpart while claiming “Serbia is refusing to join the European Union in sanctions against Russia due to its aggression against Ukraine”.

He also cited writing the New York Times' influential newspaper about the Serbian president's ties to hooligans and organised crime.

Otherwise, Chollet and Escobar spoke mostly about relations between Serbia and Kosovo, writes nova.rs.

They also pointed to the influence of China and Russia, corruption, the issue of energy independence and cyber security as the biggest challenges for the Western Balkans.