N1BOS — broadcast
20260920 200000 UTC
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[00:00:00] Dotic and political allies
[00:00:01] of the President have profited hundreds of thousands of
[00:00:04] dollars because
[00:00:06] of their connections
[00:00:06] with the administration. So as we address many important
[00:00:10] issues in
[00:00:11] the west western Balkans, from a continued US role in
[00:00:14] NATO's K4 to the importance of supporting EU and
[00:00:18] of NATO ascension for Western Balcan countries. I'm also hopeful that
[00:00:22] our witnesses can shed some light on these two decisions in Bosnia that
[00:00:26] clearly run counter to our interests.
[00:01:01] Chairman
[00:01:01] of self, ranking member kiding, distinguished sub-committee members and members
[00:01:05] of your teams, thank you for this opportunity to
[00:01:09] testify today on US policy in the western
[00:01:12] balcans. We appreciate congressional attention and
[00:01:15] travel to the region, including Mr. Chairman, your travel
[00:01:19] to the Western Balkans in May. The United
[00:01:22] of States seeks a stable, peaceful and prosperous
[00:01:26] Western Balkans that contributes to regional
[00:01:29] and global. We are pursuing positive
[00:01:33] relations with actors in the region to maintain
[00:01:36] stability, expand
[00:01:39] of economic
[00:01:39] of cooperation and counter threats that directly affect the United
[00:01:42] States. At the 30th anniversary commemoration
[00:01:46] of the dayton peace agreement, deputy secretary Landow of made
[00:01:50] state clear that the era
[00:01:52] of of externally imposed nation building is over.
[00:01:55] Instead, we urge local leaders to forge local solutions.
[00:02:18] of
[00:02:22] of
[00:02:25] of
[00:03:00] with our partners in the region to counter threats, including from Balkan
[00:03:03] criminal organizations that directly cooperate with western hemisphere
[00:03:07] cartels that threaten the United States. We
[00:03:11] pursue these objectives through sustained high-level engagement and
[00:03:15] use of all the tools at our disposal, including those enacted by
[00:03:18] Congress. We also expect European partners to carry a
[00:03:22] greater share
[00:03:23] of the regions security burden. For our Western Balkan NATO
[00:03:26] allies, this includes modernizing their militaries.
[00:03:30] and meeting NATO defense spending commitments and their capability
[00:03:34] commitments (nato
[00:03:36] in 3.0). The United States remains committed to
[00:03:40] Bosnia and Herzegovina's sovereignty and territorial integrity and to the
[00:03:44] stability brought by the dayton agreement. Last year US
[00:03:47] diplomacy
[00:03:49] a resolved a long-running crisis, preserving the country's legal
[00:03:52] cohesion in constitutional order while securing the
[00:03:56] withdraw
[00:03:57] of the Republica Serbska's most anti-Dayton.
[00:04:30] and we are urging Kosovo's leaders to bring this process to conclusion in
[00:04:34] accordance with its constitution and court
[00:04:36] of rulings. the NATO led Kosovo force or
[00:04:40] K-4. Yes, it remains critical to maintaining safe and
[00:04:44] of secure environment in Kosovo, and it is supported by US forest
[00:04:48] contributions. In Serbia,
[00:04:51] in we
[00:04:51] of are advocating for the United States as the partner of choice to
[00:04:54] counter
[00:04:55] of adversarial influence. In July, we hosted the first ever US Serbia
[00:04:59] strategic. dialogue to advance energy,
[00:05:02] in defense, security
[00:05:04] of and commercial cooperation. engagement with this pivotal country
[00:05:08] in the regional balance will remain critical
[00:05:11] safeguarding US
[00:05:12] progress Normalization has of occurred relations since between the the 2020
[00:05:16] maintenance of peace between Serbia and Kosovo is essential to regional
[00:05:20] stability.
[00:05:24] Washington significant agreement which was brokered by our president during the first
[00:05:28] term. Nevertheless, the EU facilitated dialogue has stalled
[00:05:31] because of insufficient will on politic on both sides and we urge
[00:05:35] Belgrade and Prestina to void provocations to uphold their
[00:05:39] commitments and resume talks without preconditions.
[00:05:43] Let me say quickly, we're also working closely with our NATO allies,
[00:05:46] Albania, uh, Montenegro and North
[00:05:50] Macedonia, on our shared security goals as well as to
[00:05:53] counter transnational criminal organizations. Summing
[00:05:57] up, our engagements in the Western Balkans are tied to achievable
[00:06:00] objectives and measurable results. Our focus is
[00:06:04] on supporting pragmatic, locally driven solutions that booster
[00:06:08] stability, expanding commercial and security cooperation,
[00:06:12] and advancing the interests the American
[00:06:30] on the Russian influence in Serbia. However, more
[00:06:34] than half the Chinese investment in this entire
[00:06:37] region goes into Serbia,
[00:06:40] so... what is your assessment? what is the
[00:06:44] US policy, and I you focused on Serbia in your
[00:06:47] comments, how are we counteracting that huge investment into
[00:06:51] Serbia uh, because I believe that China uh, China's
[00:06:55] interest is to continuing the un the
[00:06:59] instability in the region, and I certainly think these investments
[00:07:03] are lead to that conclusion.
[00:07:05] Sir, Mr. Chairman, thank you for that important
[00:07:09] question, uh, what I can assure you is that the United States continues. to work with
[00:07:13] Serbia and all our allies in Western Balkans to ensure
[00:07:16] that they pursue investments that don't allow geopolitical
[00:07:20] rivals, particularly China to take ownership over critical
[00:07:23] infrastructure. In the case of of Serbia,
[00:07:27] we are concerned that their investments in
[00:07:31] defense defense articles coming from China, particularly air defense,
[00:07:35] the only European country to buy from China air defense, that that
[00:07:39] could jeopardize our ability to work closely and promote. defense
[00:07:42] cooperation with Serbia, we want to, as I said in my opening remarks, to be
[00:07:46] the partner of choice, so we continue our active commercial and economic
[00:07:50] diplomacy to promote US business in the region.
[00:07:54] uh, I would ask you, and I will submit this in writing, what can we
[00:07:58] do to, what can Congress do uh to
[00:08:02] to counteract
[00:08:03] the the Chinese investment in in Serbia? I'd like to
[00:08:07] move to uh, Kosovo and NATO
[00:08:11] uh, because... I believe that is the most
[00:08:14] important element of stability in this region is
[00:08:17] Kosovo at um ascension to NATO uh
[00:08:21] second only in immediacy to the K4 issue uh but
[00:08:25] we have four NATO members Greece Romania Slovakia and
[00:08:28] Spain as you know that are non-recognizers
[00:08:32] uh how does how is the Trump administration working with the
[00:08:36] non-recognizers realizing that this is key
[00:08:40] point of stability in this entire region.
[00:08:44] Thank you, Mr. Chairman for that question. It is an important one as well, the
[00:08:48] United States supports international recognition of Kosovo, we continue
[00:08:51] our those conversations, including with NATO allies that are
[00:08:55] non-recognizers. I also want to say that in
[00:08:59] terms of making the case return to the normalization
[00:09:03] dialogue, the EU dialogue between Kosovo
[00:09:07] and Serbia would be would be useful
[00:09:10] in in in
[00:09:11] in in our. advocacy for for
[00:09:15] recognition and we do urge political leaders on both
[00:09:18] sides to return to those talks without
[00:09:21] preconditions. again,
[00:09:23] I will put it
[00:09:24] in writing, but I after after we get through this next election season in
[00:09:28] in the region, I think we ought to consider how we
[00:09:38] I i have what time for one more question,
[00:09:43] "I can't tell you how important K4 is both to the Serbian
[00:09:46] government and to the Kosovo government, both them for different
[00:09:50] reasons of course, consider K4 and not just
[00:09:53] K4, but the US presence in K4, absolutely
[00:09:57] essential. Can you address the US policy,
[00:10:01] not the department of war planning, but the US policy from
[00:10:05] the state department in terms of K4? Thank you,
[00:10:09] Mr. Chairman, I agree with you, K4 is an important.
[00:10:13] force for stability in in the region, I
[00:10:17] will just share that the size and scope of k4 is
[00:10:21] determined by NATO's North Atlantic Council. at
[00:10:25] 32 uh, we do support four size that's
[00:10:29] needed to accomplish K4's uh its goals as
[00:10:33] conditions permit on the ground, and uh, as we look at
[00:10:36] US force contribution, we do look at US policy priorities, mission
[00:10:40] needs in partner capability, but the United States is
[00:10:44] is providing a significant and important contribution to
[00:10:48] K4 right now, uh, yes, they are, and I would ask you for State
[00:10:52] Department support uh, because if we move this from
[00:10:55] requirement in in the Pentagon to requirement in the
[00:10:59] European command, it will show decreased
[00:11:03] emphasis on the US participation in K4, um,
[00:11:07] so I would ask for your help if that does come about, because
[00:11:11] this needs to be a US policy priority supported
[00:11:15] by the state department.
[00:11:35] I want to begin with Dodic's recent behavior. In February of this
[00:11:39] year Dodic described Dayton as
[00:11:42] unsalvageable and said the High Representative had no
[00:11:46] legitimacy. Later in February they referred to
[00:11:50] Bosnia acts as enemies and and he uh
[00:11:54] used as amophobic slurs in the process
[00:11:58] in May of this year, the RS National Assembly
[00:12:02] passed legislation calling for closure the office the High Representative in
[00:12:05] May, also Dotic took two trips to Moscow
[00:12:09] where he echoed Russian talking
[00:12:12] points.
[00:12:15] Do you believe that this behavior is consistent with Dayton Peace
[00:12:19] Accord? Well, thank you, ranking
[00:12:22] member, what I want to... you is that the United States
[00:12:26] supports the peace and stability that the Dayton Peace Accord uh has afford us
[00:12:30] all and uh we oppose rhetoric uh for
[00:12:34] political gain and we're urging deescalation so thank you for
[00:12:38] shar so would you urge reing statement of those sanctions on him because
[00:12:42] he's just continued to do what he did before and the purpose of sanctions
[00:12:46] is to alter behavior? thank you uh ranking member
[00:12:49] keeding for their question uh i think it's a it's a separate question whether
[00:12:53] sanctions should be applied. I will say that we are focused on actions
[00:12:57] as opposed to rhetoric. I also just note here
[00:13:01] that uh right now, Mr. Doddic uh has stepped down
[00:13:05] from his from office, he holds no political office at this
[00:13:09] time, and he's not running for politic of continues this rhetoric
[00:13:13] to this time, and this Congress passed the Western Balkan's democracy and prosperity
[00:13:16] act which calls for sanctioning of individuals doing just what he is
[00:13:20] doing. So uh, I don't think the issues
[00:13:24] as you mention. are different i think they're connected obviously
[00:13:28] and would hope that the department does
[00:13:30] echo calls to
[00:13:34] reinstate those sanctions, they mean nothing if they're taken away and
[00:13:38] then he continues the very same behavior he did before. i
[00:13:42] just want to move also
[00:13:44] to the issue of that i addressed in my opening remarks about the gas
[00:13:48] pipeline
[00:13:53] itself tweeted publicly. about its hope that a US company
[00:13:56] would win the contract you in your opening remarks said the administration's
[00:14:00] policy is for local solutions to local
[00:14:04] problems so after initially just advocating
[00:14:08] which i agree with for a southern interconnection gas
[00:14:11] pipeline uh then the embassy changed and said there
[00:14:14] should be a US company that's involved and just four days
[00:14:18] later that company was formed by Joseph
[00:14:22] flynn and jessie benal. and they have no
[00:14:26] experience whatsoever in the region, no experience with
[00:14:29] pipeline uh, and they're written into the
[00:14:32] contract. how do you explain the embassy's change
[00:14:36] and and the difference from
[00:14:38] your opening statements that these should be local problems, and this
[00:14:42] is obviously interjecting US politics and
[00:14:45] us into this into this important project. how do you explain that change?
[00:14:49] and how do you uh explain the advocating of a company with
[00:14:53] no experience, it was just... formed four days after that
[00:14:57] pronouncement by the embassy. Gen, I really appreciate the
[00:15:01] question and the chance to to clarify. I also appreciate in your
[00:15:04] opening statement that you you appreciate the the strategic
[00:15:08] significance the southern interconnection, which
[00:15:11] would provide for US energy abundance to the
[00:15:15] region a way that could increase energy security
[00:15:19] for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The United
[00:15:22] States, this this project is existed on the books
[00:15:26] for approximately decade, it was in
[00:15:30] 2024 that the government, the federation government decided to move
[00:15:34] forward with the project with legislation,
[00:15:39] "I sincerely apologize for interrupting, but I've got less than a minute,
[00:15:43] I want to cut to this issue directly. I mean, are you aware of any
[00:15:46] discussions along these lines of US
[00:15:50] agencies or quasi agencies being involved in
[00:15:53] funding, has it been since the sudden change of
[00:15:57] uh, it's a US company, after you're saying that it's local solutions
[00:16:01] that we should be fostering, and this
[00:16:04] four-day miraculous..."
[00:16:08] coincidental, I don't think it is, formation of new company
[00:16:12] with no experience, getting this contract. Is there also any
[00:16:15] discussion, and it's something we should have oversight over, if there
[00:16:19] is, with funding
[00:16:21] from US entities at all towards towards this uh,
[00:16:25] and and towards this company. Ranky member Keeding, what I can to say
[00:16:29] is that over many years the United States is provide technical expertise to the
[00:16:33] federation in the design the southern interconnection project.
[00:16:37] "I'm not aware of any funding or or direct assistance, we did
[00:16:41] advocate for a US solution, and just to cut to your
[00:16:45] question about AFS
[00:16:47] capabilities, you know, it's a standard,
[00:16:50] globalized,
[00:16:51] you globally used business structure to pool financial, technical and
[00:16:55] operational expertise for large infrastructure projects. Ultimately, the
[00:16:59] decision to go with an American solution and with this particular
[00:17:03] company to enter into contract negotiations with that company was
[00:17:15] South Carolina, Mr. Wilson, thank you very much,
[00:17:18] Mr. Chairman, and indeed, thank you for being here today, I am
[00:17:22] grateful to have introduce with ranking member Bill Keeding and
[00:17:26] chairman Keith Self legislation promoting fair and free elections in
[00:17:30] Serbia, we actually have a support letter from
[00:17:34] 14 different Serbian civil society organizations.
[00:17:37] supporting free elections in
[00:17:45] Additionally, I'm very grateful that uh tomorrow
[00:17:49] uh there will be a briefing on the Serbia's upcoming elections at
[00:17:53] 9:30 in the morning everyone is invited room 2:10 cannon house
[00:17:57] office
[00:18:11] are legitimate concerns that the October 25th election in Serbia
[00:18:14] will not be free and fair. there are indications that vuches security
[00:18:18] state interest with assistance from war criminal
[00:18:22] Putin are working to rate the election such as fake
[00:18:25] identities, fake accounts, consolidating media under state
[00:18:29] control. the Trump administration approach to Serbia via
[00:18:33] the strategic dialogue is very important. how can we effectively
[00:18:37] communicate?
[00:18:37] strategic dialogue,
[00:18:50] Wilson for carefully
[00:18:51] that the important question, for
[00:18:51] we watching are preparation
[00:18:54] Serbia's elections, with respect to the
[00:18:58] this Serbia was US the first ever, and it was, as I mentioned in my opening statement, an
[00:19:02] important vehicle to advance our security cooperation, our
[00:19:06] economic. operation and even our people to people
[00:19:09] ties, the the effort here is to invest
[00:19:13] in a relationship that for too long was was
[00:19:16] marked by by isolation
[00:19:19] and and lack of communication, we would
[00:19:21] like to make Serbia, we would
[00:19:22] like to make the United States the partner of choice in Serbia,
[00:19:25] and I appreciate the partner of choice message, but indeed I
[00:19:29] was an election observer the first three elections in Bulgaria with the International Republican
[00:19:33] Institute and National Democrat institute, and so over and
[00:19:37] over Again, we can have role monitoring and promoting fair and free
[00:19:40] elections. Additionally, it's been reported that corruption,
[00:19:44] organized crime and election integrity in Albania is
[00:19:48] being affected by the Edirama
[00:19:51] government, in fact, promoting the creation
[00:19:55] of a noroco trafficking Kaval. It's
[00:19:57] been over the years, the United States is
[00:20:01] actually been very successful with anti-crime
[00:20:04] organized drug trafficking authorities address. issue,
[00:20:07] what is the administration doing
[00:20:09] in response to the Albanian narco
[00:20:11] trafficking? Wilson, thank you as well
[00:20:15] for that important question, I can assure you that the United States continues
[00:20:19] to work with the Albanian government to counter uh
[00:20:23] transnational criminal organizations that operate from there, these these
[00:20:27] organizations have international links with cartels here in the western
[00:20:31] hemisphere, in particular we found that the special structure
[00:20:35] for combatting corruption
[00:20:36] in in organiz crime has been relatively effective
[00:20:40] addressing uh some the issues that you raised,
[00:20:49] and so we want all to succeed, with that in mind to
[00:20:53] uh, as you talk about partner of choice, it needs to be by
[00:20:56] actions, not words and indeed Serbia now has the largest
[00:21:00] oil company (NIS) being owned by war criminal Putin,
[00:21:04] we have Serbia purchases from War Putin, its
[00:21:08] weapon systems, we have Chinese communist party,
[00:21:12] tech company, Huawei, supports camera surveillance in
[00:21:15] Serbia's three largest cities, Serbia purchased Chinese radar and air
[00:21:19] defense. systems incredibly Serbia sent a
[00:21:22] delegation to the funeral of dictator uh Komeni and
[00:21:25] Tehand alongside the uh delegations of Russia and
[00:21:29] China. These are actions that do not show a
[00:21:33] uh effort to uh to be part of western
[00:21:36] civilization uh but they show subservience to War Putin
[00:21:40] and so how is this being addressed? well thank you representative
[00:21:43] Willison I can assure you that the United States continues to advocate heavily for
[00:21:47] US business and US solutions. uh on the positive side,
[00:21:51] what I can I'd like to note is that this year, for the first time in its history,
[00:21:55] Serbia held a joint military exercise with NATO,
[00:21:59] well and I need to let you know they also had a joint military exercise with the
[00:22:03] Chinese people liberation army, and so
[00:22:07] hey, this is so serious, and and and many of
[00:22:11] us inself and myself are concerned about diesel prises
[00:22:14] and uh having Serbia's oil company
[00:22:17] owned by Work Putin affect. diesel prices in Texas
[00:22:21] and South Carolina, even Massachusetts. Thank you very much. If
[00:22:25] I may just quickly
[00:22:29] to to and the nice, you mentioned the oil refinery that's Russian owned, we are working to
[00:22:33] eliminate Russian control and ownership of nice. They're
[00:22:36] actually increasing
[00:22:50] because it seems like host of contradictions, maybe you can make that
[00:22:53] clear, but you just commented on this
[00:22:56] Russian involvement with this oil
[00:22:59] refinery, i mean this
[00:23:03] really begs the question, president
[00:23:07] in the last 24 hours urged the
[00:23:09] Ukrainians to to lay off the Russian
[00:23:13] refineries because the increased
[00:23:17] cost of of diesel, it's absurd,
[00:23:51] and somehow codoning this involvement or ownership of this
[00:23:54] refinery, when these brave Ukrainian people are fighting for their
[00:23:58] sovereignty and their democracy, it makes no
[00:24:01] sense. what has the department done implement the
[00:24:05] western balkans democracy and prosperity act in,
[00:24:09] including the anti-corruption initiatives and technical assistance
[00:24:13] and sanctions and government
[00:24:17] oversight, how is this? administration with the western
[00:24:21] countries supporting their eU membership aspirations
[00:24:24] that further our interests, us interest in the
[00:24:28] region
[00:24:29] by expanding opportunities
[00:24:30] for our businesses in line with the
[00:24:32] act. thank you, representative
[00:24:36] coasta, let me just reassure that when it comes to the
[00:24:40] the Russian own oil refinery in Serbia, the United States
[00:24:44] sanctioned that entity in in 2025,
[00:24:47] right now I can share that uh a Hungarian oil company that's in
[00:24:51] negotiations
[00:24:52] to to purchase that and remove Russian control from it, and we're looking at another
[00:24:56] sanctions bill potentially, and frankly I think the president has more
[00:24:59] authority to issue sanctions in this instance, but go ahead and answer the
[00:25:03] question. Sure, and with respect to sanctions, I'll be the
[00:25:07] first to say, we retain sanction authorities, and we will act
[00:25:10] if if if stabilities threaten or and necessary
[00:25:14] to secure US interests, uh, the United States, do you believe you have
[00:25:18] sufficient authority now? "I believe Congress has given that sufficient
[00:25:22] authority and um and we continuously review actions that
[00:25:26] may warrant sanction. The authority you have given us is also
[00:25:29] I think served as deterrent effect from destabilizing actions
[00:25:33] in the region. We'll continue. I want to assure we'll continue to engage
[00:25:37] Congress as we implement relevant statutory requirements
[00:25:41] the NDAA. Does the administration support
[00:25:45] membership the Western Balkan countries in the
[00:25:47] EU? Uh, thank you."
[00:26:02] with the European Union, well certainly we can be helpful in that process, I mean
[00:26:06] we last I just still had
[00:26:09] a serious participation
[00:26:13] in NATO and certainly by way of that our
[00:26:16] EU allies, right?
[00:26:20] well again, we're not a member the I know we're not a member, you don't have to remind me of
[00:26:23] that fact, so uh, right
[00:26:27] now, the United States supports the reform
[00:26:30] process that creates a better... business investment climate because that
[00:26:34] has
[00:26:35] uh uh the that has the advent the advantageous
[00:26:39] effect of of of giving the United States the opportunity to
[00:26:43] help generate prosperity in the region. so could you summarize for me what the
[00:26:47] overall strategy is when it comes to the Balkans and our
[00:26:50] attempt to maintain our
[00:26:54] influence in light the
[00:26:57] ongoing activities by both Russia and China?
[00:27:01] absolutely uh... Representative Costa, our our strategy is
[00:27:04] threefold, it's to um promote stability in the region, it's to
[00:27:08] advance economic cooperation in the region, and it's to um,
[00:27:12] it's to counter transnational threats, and this is consistent with our
[00:27:16] overall mandate given to us by secretary of state Rubio to make the
[00:27:20] United States safer, more secure, and more prosperous. Well, those
[00:27:24] are all great sound bites, but what is your biggest challenge in
[00:27:27] dealing with that, those folks and and that has had a long
[00:27:31] history, obviously. going back to yugoslavia
[00:27:34] and and Tito, but the the fact is is that the
[00:27:38] efforts of Russia and China still
[00:27:41] are one could argue that the in many
[00:27:45] ways are making far more progress than we are. Thank
[00:27:48] you for that question, representative Costa, what I can tell you is that the United States
[00:27:52] continues to work with all those countries the Western Balkans to try
[00:27:56] to ensure that we are the partner of choice, and with respect
[00:28:00] to to unsafe investments, we're we're promoting investment
[00:28:04] screening uh we also prevent uh we also
[00:28:07] promote uh procurement uh procedures that would eliminate
[00:28:11] unsecure vendors from geopolitical rivals,
[00:28:14] so we're engaged every day, I can assure you our teams are engaged every day to advance
[00:28:18] US interesting to advance the interest the US American
[00:28:21] people in in those countries. Well, I'm
[00:30:11] ties with China have expended in recent years
[00:30:14] and Serbian president said we
[00:30:18] have very good cooperation between our countries and we want to bring it to a
[00:30:22] higher level if possible. Well, notably,
[00:30:25] Serbia's importation of concerning levels of weapons from
[00:30:29] China ranging from long-range air to surface.
[00:30:32] ballistic missiles to advanced surface tail missars
[00:30:36] along with this participation in joined military drills
[00:30:40] with China represents unpreceidentist strategic behavior for an
[00:30:43] EU candidate nation. Mr. Lothtern,
[00:30:47] given these concerning developments, how is the state department
[00:30:51] addressing the risk of Serbia's military alignment with
[00:30:54] Beijing to US security interest in stability in the west.