The US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill’s statement that wants an explanation from Serbia regarding the document signed with Russia on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York was condemned by the Russian Embassy on Tuesday for being inappropriate.
The Russian embassy said it advised Hill to learn how to respect “the right of other countries to lead independent policies” as Washington would need this “ability” in conditions of “an irreversible and true democratisation of international relations and the creation of a polycentric world”. It added that the US would sooner or later have to reconcile itself with reality and desist with neocolonial habits and unjustified ambitions to “be the general governor of the world.”
“We are appalled by US ambassador Hill’s inappropriate statements on Russian-Serbian relations. This time he really outdid himself, demanding haughtily, as if he had the right to an explanation from the host government about the signing [of the document] by the foreign ministers of Russia and Serbia,” the Russian embassy said in a statement, adding that “we will continue contacting our Serbian partners, and efforts to consistently strengthen bilateral strategic cooperation.”
“It is sad to see how low US diplomacy will go to carry out the job of imposing Washington’s view of ‘unity in Russiaphobia’ on sovereign states, replacing international law with ‘an order based on rules,’ which only suits the US, and expanding, on the basis of unfair competition, the market for US energy, which is definitely lagging behind Russian natural gas both in terms of price and quality,” the statement said.
Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selaković signed an agreement on consultations for 2023-2024 with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York this weekend.
The agreement drew sharp criticism from the EU and western officials. At a news conference in Belgrade on Monday, US Ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, said he expected Serbia to explain the kind of cooperation document it signed.
“It’s not completely clear” what the document contained, said Hill, adding that “at this point, no one should sign anything with Russia.”
