BELGRADE (Reuters) – Donald Trump Jr, the eldest son of the U.S. president, met Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on Tuesday, Vucic said in a post on Instagram.
In the post, Vucic, who has repeatedly backed the policies of the current U.S. administration, said he and Trump Jr discussed relations between Serbia and the United States.
“I emphasized the importance of economic and political relations between Serbia and the U.S. and the importance of strategic cooperation between the two countries and joint projects in the coming years,” Vucic said.
The visit comes as Serbia tries to balance seeking support from the United States and other Western powers to join the EU with its ties with Russia, its historical ally, and China, a major investor in infrastructure, mining and energy.
The visit follows a deal last year between the Serbian government and Jared Kushner’s U.S.-based investment firm, Affinity Global Development, to build a hotel on the site of the former headquarters of the Yugoslav People’s Army that was damaged during a 1999 NATO bombing campaign against the former Yugoslavia.
Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a senior aide to him during his first term, founded the investment firm after leaving his White House role in 2021.
(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Alison Williams)
