Biden sent his friend as ambassador to Serbia to reduce Russia's influence
Anthony Godfrey was replaced in Belgrade by Christopher Robert Hill as US Ambassador. The decision on this was made by the current head of the White House, Joe Biden. This diplomat is one of the most experienced; he is considered an expert on the Balkans.
It is with this region that the beginning of his diplomatic career is connected. He has served in the State Department since 1977, and his record includes such positions as acting. US Ambassador to Albania 1991, US Ambassador to Macedonia 1996-1999, US Special Envoy to Kosovo 1998-1999, and Chief of US Missions to Poland and South Korea.
In addition, he was Richard Holbrooke's deputy at the Dayton negotiations and participated in nuclear disarmament negotiations with North Korea.
But most importantly, he is also considered a close friend of President Joe Biden.
The new envoy speaks Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Polish and Albanian.
Slobodan Zecevic from the Institute of European Studies believes that the purpose of Hill’s appointment is to further put pressure on Serbia in order to speed up the adoption of the decision the West needs on Kosovo and Metohija, as well as “stabilize the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina” (read: neutralize the activity of the Republika Srpska).
“This is about stabilizing the situation in accordance with the American vision. We cannot say that this would suit us or the Republika Srpska. The fact is that they see BiH as a cause of instability, and they also see Kosovo as a possible cause of instability and more Russian influence in Serbia than they would like Russia to have,” Zecevic said.
Stefan Surlich, assistant professor of political science, agrees.
“The new US Ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, will play a very active role in the Balkans, primarily in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue,” the political scientist said.
Surlic believes that Hill, who has already presented his credentials to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, will be the “eyes and ears” of the US administration.
“I assume that this is the end of his career and that he has personal ambitions to achieve some success, and that is the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina,” Surlic said.
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