Serbia tries to strengthen relations with the US

Belgrade's ambassador to the US Marko Djuric has told a friendly news outlet that the two countries share "compatible values". President Aleksandar Vucic on Friday objected to the rhetoric of some US officials as being "stuck in the 1990s". Serbia intends to "intensively deepen" its relations with the US, noting the growing volume of trade, military cooperation with the Ohio National Guard, and the growing presence of Serb basketball players in the NBA. Serbia is now focused on development, a higher standard of living, and "values that are entirely equivalent and compatible with European and American." NATO bombed Serbia for 78 days in 1999, on behalf of ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. Last month, the US ambassador in Belgrade said the Serbs should "set aside their grievances," but Vucic responded that Serbia will never forget the aggression of the West.