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20260920 203000 UTC
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[00:00:00] Thank you chairman, thank you for being here.
[00:00:03] of I know our chairman self uh mentioned China's
[00:00:06] investment in Serbia earlier, so let me pick up on
[00:00:11] of that,
[00:00:11] of Serbia's ties with China have expended in recent years
[00:00:15] of and Serbian president said, we have very
[00:00:19] good
[00:00:20] of cooperation between our countries and we want to bring it to a higher level if
[00:00:24] possible. Well, notably, Serbia's importation
[00:00:28] of concerning levels of weapons from ranging from
[00:00:31] long-range air to surface ballistic missiles to
[00:00:35] advanced surface to air
[00:00:37] of missiles. along with this participation in joined
[00:00:40] of military drills with China represents unpresidentist strategic behavior
[00:00:44] for an EU candidate nation. Mr.
[00:00:47] Lowton, given these concerning developments, how
[00:00:51] is the state department addressing the risk of Serbia's
[00:00:54] of military alignment with Beijing to US security interest in
[00:00:58] stability in the Western Balkan.
[00:01:02] of Representative Kim, you raised some very important issues and and we share your
[00:01:05] concerns about Serbia's engagement, especially defense
[00:01:09] cooperation with China. As you mentioned, their purchase of
[00:01:13] of air defense equipment, they are the only
[00:01:16] European country to buy such equipment in
[00:01:18] of Europe. What are we doing? The United States continues to
[00:01:22] engage with Serbia a high level to make
[00:01:25] of us the partner of
[00:01:26] of choice, and as I mentioned earlier, the United States.
[00:01:30] lots
[00:01:30] of of
[00:01:31] of can you talk about some specific steps that
[00:01:34] United States is taking to address that security risk with
[00:01:38] Belgrade and our European allies. I know we're taking
[00:01:42] steps and it is important what you're saying, but again I think
[00:01:46] in we are asking for some specifics. Yeah, the
[00:01:50] of United States supported the NATO exercise in Serbia. I will also
[00:01:54] mention that the Ohio national guard enjoys a state part,
[00:01:57] celebrating 20 years of state partnership program. is also
[00:02:00] a vector for exercising and promoting US
[00:02:04] influence in Serbia in terms of security
[00:02:06] cooperation. Thank
[00:02:09] of you. In July, Secretary Rubio and minister of foreign affairs,
[00:02:13] Mark Jurrick let the first US Serbia strategic
[00:02:16] dialogue here in Washington DC, and the initiative
[00:02:20] represents a wide range of areas of cooperation in
[00:02:23] energy, defense and technology. So can you
[00:02:27] in explain the long-term objectives. that is associated with that
[00:02:31] effort and where there is potential road blocks for
[00:02:35] future cooperation, including Serbia's extensive relationship with
[00:02:39] Russia and China. Please be as specific as
[00:02:43] possible.
[00:02:44] of Sure. Well, representative Kim, I can tell you that the first ever
[00:02:47] US Serbia strategic dialogue advanced energy
[00:02:51] cooperation between our two countries, including moving forward
[00:02:55] on important hydropower
[00:02:57] of project, it also expanded a full bright cooperation. between our two countries with
[00:03:01] Serbia contributing more to that uh,
[00:03:04] of in addition, Serbia plans to open two new counselots in the United States, so we are
[00:03:08] broadening that that that bilateral relationship between our two
[00:03:11] me countries. As you correctly point out, military cooperation with
[00:03:15] China poses risks, it poses risks to our ability to to
[00:03:19] foster defense cooperation with Serbia, it poses risks to
[00:03:22] interoperability. How do you plan addressing those road
[00:03:26] blocks and the challenges you are mentioning, of kim, we we
[00:03:30] plan to engage in vigorous diplomacy and and we continue to do
[00:03:34] that both here in Washington through our embassy.
[00:03:37] Okay, well that's all I have for you, I'll yiel
[00:03:41] back. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[00:03:44] I now recognize the member from Nevada, Miss
[00:03:46] Titus. Well, thank you, Mr.
[00:03:49] Chairman. Uh, I'd just like to take a minute to
[00:03:52] of talk about the what happened last month when Ratko
[00:03:56] Maladic passed away. He was
[00:03:59] of a war criminal. known as the butcher of Bosnian, he died in
[00:04:03] the Hague where he'd been served
[00:04:05] in a prison sentence after he was convicted by the
[00:04:08] International Criminal Tribunal for uh
[00:04:12] former Yugoslavia of crimes
[00:04:14] of against humanity, war crimes and genocide. He
[00:04:18] of played a leading role uh in the massacre where
[00:04:21] approximately 8,000 bosniac men and boys were
[00:04:25] killed. I ask unanimous consent, Mr. Chairman
[00:04:29] to enter letter uh into the record from Bosnian and
[00:04:33] Herzegovina's foreign minister, detailing his horrors
[00:04:37] and the government stance on circumstances surrounding the
[00:04:40] transfer of his body back to Serbia. Without objection, thank
[00:04:44] you. One might think that Malotics death would have been a sober
[00:04:48] moment of reflection for the
[00:04:49] of Serbian government, but instead it's been just the opposite.
[00:04:53] Serbia chose to treat Melodic like national hero, his coffin
[00:04:57] a was flown
[00:04:58] a government plane. from the Netherlands back to
[00:05:02] Serbia, he was carried off the plane by soldiers, thousands
[00:05:05] of people came out to honor him, his casket featured parts
[00:05:09] of his uniform and medals he had worn, when he was conducting
[00:05:13] the genocide, and the head the Serbian orthodox church
[00:05:17] says, we know that his name will remain deeply
[00:05:21] etched in the memory and prayers the people who feel and
[00:05:25] nurture a deep sense of gratitude towards him.
[00:05:29] now this shouldn't come as a surprise to us, because
[00:05:32] Alexander Vutic is a right-wing nationalist who's
[00:05:36] made genocidal comments himself. for example, he said, for
[00:05:39] every serb killed we will kill 100. Muslims, so
[00:05:43] obviously this kind of ultra-nationalist fervor is good for
[00:05:47] politics, for him and his party back home. So I would
[00:05:51] ask you, Mr. Lawton, thus far, the state department,
[00:05:55] unlike the EU, has remained quiet about this whole
[00:05:58] episode. Uh, do you think the Serbian's government glorified
[00:06:02] a glorification of a convicted war criminal and mastermind
[00:06:06] of one the worst genocides in Europe since World War II, is
[00:06:10] appropriate behavior? Representative
[00:06:14] Titus, let me go on the record for you right here, Radko
[00:06:17] Miladic is, he serves you, as you rightly pointed out, he served life
[00:06:21] sentence, died in jail, he was convicted for genocide, crimes against
[00:06:25] humanity and war crimes. I want to assure you that we recognize the
[00:06:29] shrebra genocide, we remember the victims
[00:06:32] and we reject a glorification of war
[00:06:35] criminals, tragedy and crimes the 1990s,
[00:06:39] they shouldn't be turned into political theater, that's offensive. memory
[00:06:42] to the the tens of thousands of victims and the millions who live through
[00:06:46] that that period, regional stability under is
[00:06:50] been undermined
[00:06:51] for far too long by those who want to re-litigate the past for selfish
[00:06:55] gain rather than work to build the
[00:06:58] more stable and prosper prosperous future. well, i appreciate
[00:07:02] you saying that now, and and you
[00:07:04] have said before about the regional stability. i think your own
[00:07:07] words which you submitted to us is that
[00:07:10] the state department is ready to work with. those prepared to move into the
[00:07:14] future and has little interest in those who would undermine
[00:07:17] stability for selfish purposes or who relitigate
[00:07:21] decades old grievances, but that's precisely what
[00:07:25] Serbia is doing, so if we don't condone that, why aren't we
[00:07:29] taking some position kind of like the EU, they
[00:07:32] publicly have uh condemned the glorification and
[00:07:36] the EU pu enlargement commissioner Martha
[00:07:40] Kosk cancelled her? because of
[00:07:43] this, does secretary rubio plan to do anything to
[00:07:47] publicly condemn this or say we don't support it or
[00:07:51] don't approve of it? well,
[00:07:54] representative titus,
[00:07:56] you know, we don't respond to every every international development in public
[00:08:00] uh, but I can assure you that our diplomatic dialogue remains robust,
[00:08:04] and and thanks to your question, I hope I've put the US position clearly on
[00:08:08] the record. well, I, I do appreciate that, so thank you. I just, I
[00:08:11] wonder if... we think this is going to have anything to do with
[00:08:15] the moving forward the EU for Serbia,
[00:08:18] but i guess you don't want to comment on that uh
[00:08:22] publicly, well another thing let ask you about uh the Trump
[00:08:26] administration's kind of corrupt policies in the Balkans are
[00:08:29] enriching the president's friends and they're also I think undermining
[00:08:33] national security. in Bosnia, the Trump
[00:08:36] administration rewarded its lobbyist friends by removing
[00:08:40] sanctions um... Millerad Dodic and
[00:08:44] advocating for a $1 billion dollar concession to be provided
[00:08:48] to Trump allies in Albania where they are
[00:08:51] protesting Jared Kuschner is using his connections to with
[00:08:55] the administration to develop a multi-billion dollar
[00:08:59] luxury resort uh in November
[00:09:02] 2025 the Serbian parliament passed a law
[00:09:05] paving the way for Jared Kuschner to develop luxury
[00:09:09] hotel and apartment complex on the side of former
[00:09:13] yugoslav army headquarters which was bombed by NATO
[00:09:17] in 1999 and this deal is kind of
[00:09:20] stalled, but what is the sale of Serbian
[00:09:24] government building to the Trump family with a stated goals of
[00:09:27] improving relations with the US say about uh
[00:09:31] the president's willingness to engage in this sort of thing members time is
[00:09:35] expired and now recognize Mr. Davidson from Ohio. Thank
[00:09:38] you. Thank you Mr. Lawton and thank you chairman for this.
[00:09:42] hearing earlier this year, there were reports that the European Union would be
[00:09:46] withholding certain EU Growth plands to Serbia due
[00:09:49] to reforms inside Serbia, could you update us on the situation
[00:09:53] there and your read on the European Union's decision?
[00:09:57] well thank you uh representative Davidson, again
[00:10:01] just to come back we're not a member the European Union so I i don't have deep insight
[00:10:04] into uh the EU decision there, but um
[00:10:08] but uh you I would refer you to Brussels for for for why they made that
[00:10:12] decision. Yeah, I mean, I'm not really asking why they made their
[00:10:16] decision, I there are certainly implications for the United States policy,
[00:10:19] and while the EU isn't really our partner, EU, we've
[00:10:23] we're essentially the European. union defense force with
[00:10:26] NATO, so so we certainly have vested interest
[00:10:30] in in the security arrangements there, there's also
[00:10:33] reports that Serbian accession into the European
[00:10:37] Union is being harmed by Serbia's refusal to join
[00:10:41] EU and western sanctions against Russia, does forcing
[00:10:45] Serbia to take a side in this conflict, advance our interest
[00:10:48] in the region? thank you, representative
[00:10:52] Davidson, what I can tell you is that um...
[00:10:56] "uh, we have sanctions
[00:10:57] you know on Russia and many of our NATO allies do as well, uh, we would
[00:11:00] encourage countries to join us in that. okay, but
[00:11:04] is the relationship between Serbia and the and the
[00:11:08] European Union undermining the United States relationship with
[00:11:11] Serbia, uh, and frankly the broader interest in the
[00:11:15] Balkans, so rather than just focusing on Serbia, are there
[00:11:18] other powers exerting notable influence in the region
[00:11:22] that are countering America's interest there?" " Thank you for the
[00:11:26] question, representative Davidson, I can tell you for there are, and as we've
[00:11:29] discussed here, certainly geopolitical rivals, especially
[00:11:33] China, also Russia do pose risks to stability in the
[00:11:37] Western Balkans, that's why we want positive relations across the
[00:11:41] whole region, with all all the all the countries the Western Balkans to
[00:11:45] foster uh the stability that is is in in all our
[00:11:48] collective interest, and so in terms the European
[00:11:52] Union, I'll just reiterate, we don't take a position
[00:11:55] and membership, that's a sovereign decision for the Western Balcan countries to
[00:11:59] make in in consultation and coordination with the European Union.
[00:12:03] Yeah, thank you. You mentioned in your opening statement that you're working with partners to
[00:12:06] counter threats from Balkan transnational criminal organizations that
[00:12:10] directly cooperate with western hemisphere cartels
[00:12:13] and operate black market activity inside the United
[00:12:17] States. Could you help us better understand what is going on here? Which
[00:12:20] countries are these Balkan organizations primarily connected
[00:12:24] to. what are the main areas of cooperation that we should be aware of?
[00:12:28] sure, representative Davidson, right
[00:12:30] now, transnational criminal organizations look for the
[00:12:34] weakest link, where they feel they can generate gain a
[00:12:38] foothold and influence. we have active
[00:12:42] programs to to support law enforcement cooperation
[00:12:46] and to counter uh narcotics. these transnational criminal
[00:12:50] organizations are working across the western balcans
[00:12:53] to essentially not just to uh gain a foothold into
[00:12:56] Europe, but also to launder money and to uh and and
[00:12:59] to
[00:13:01] and and and to affect the US homeland, so that law enforcement
[00:13:04] cooperation across all the western Balcan states is really critical to our
[00:13:08] security. yeah, as a chairman for national security and ilicit finance
[00:13:12] and financial services also serving here, you see the intersection
[00:13:16] lot of times of our treasury department and the state department, so
[00:13:19] particularly with respect to cyber scams, could you update us on the
[00:13:23] collaboration within u state with treasury
[00:13:26] to to really find the people targeting this, because what we see
[00:13:30] inside the United States is state and local governments are overwhelm, you'll see
[00:13:34] somebody who's scammed out of 10, $25,00, it doesn't rise to
[00:13:38] the level that the FBI or Secret Service will look at, but the
[00:13:42] reality is it's it's not like some local actor, lot of times it's not even someone
[00:13:45] inside the United States, these transnational organization are Robin, our
[00:13:49] citizens of billions of dollars every year, so how's that collaboration
[00:13:53] going? Representative Davidson, I can assure you that we continue to
[00:13:57] work with our partners across that region to to address uh
[00:14:01] these transnational criminal organizations and the threats they pose. I think you're
[00:14:05] you're you're you're very right to point out that this also uh
[00:14:08] also bleeds into the area of cyber security. I can I can
[00:14:12] assure you that we're also working to try to strengthen the cyber security
[00:14:16] uh capabilities of these countries. Thank you and I yield
[00:14:20] back. And now welcome to this subcommittee,
[00:14:23] member the full committee. Mr. Ladimir from New York, sir, you recognized
[00:14:27] for five minutes. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, I appreciate it. Uh, Mr.
[00:14:31] Lorton, just one question for you, NATO's K4 mission
[00:14:35] remains vitally important to ensuring peace and stability in
[00:14:39] Kosovo. Um, what are the Trump
[00:14:42] administration's plans to support K4? What do
[00:14:45] you assess as the uh continued military uh
[00:14:49] modernization challenges that face Kosovo, and how is the
[00:14:52] US assisting Kosovo? dealing with these
[00:14:55] efforts, well representative, thank you for that
[00:14:59] important question, I can assure you that
[00:15:02] the as we've just as chairman self
[00:15:05] noted, K4 enjoys great support in the region,
[00:15:09] both from Kosovo and Serbia, in terms of its
[00:15:13] mission, its size and scope is determined by NATO's North
[00:15:16] Atlantic Council, it's decided among 32 NATO
[00:15:20] allies, we support, we continue to support size needed to
[00:15:24] accomplish.
[00:15:38] Uh, there's some key factors in play here, the are US policy
[00:15:41] priorities, mission needs and partner capability, but I
[00:15:45] just want to reassure you that we remain engaged in K4, and our presence is an
[00:15:49] important one. Well, we appreciate that. We have great respect for the
[00:15:52] government the people of Kosovo, they are striving for
[00:15:56] democracy in the way that we in this country uh have tried to establish it as well,
[00:16:00] so the uh the support of this administration for that initiative is we think
[00:16:04] important and and well-placed uh effort. Mr. Chairman, thank you, and
[00:16:08] I yield back. Uh, thank you. I now recognize the member
[00:16:12] from Florida, Mr. Fine. Well, thank you for being here today. I think these are
[00:16:16] important issues to deal with, and my my concerns are largely going to
[00:16:20] stem around the milign influence of Russia and China in
[00:16:24] the region, because I think we can use what's happening here as as a broader
[00:16:27] analogue to the kinds of maligne efforts that these adversaries of ours are
[00:16:31] engaging around the world, and so thank you for being here today. Um, look, there
[00:16:35] are media reports that Russia's... been using their longstanding
[00:16:39] presence in Serbia as a forward operating base to support hybrid
[00:16:43] warfare operations in Europe and intelligence collection. Can you
[00:16:47] describe what Russia is doing from the Western Balkans to support
[00:16:50] their hybrid warfare campaigns and explain how operating from
[00:16:54] countries like Serbia enhances Russia's hybrid warfare
[00:16:57] capabilities. Well representative fine, thank you for the
[00:17:01] question. I what I could say in general is that Serbia is is
[00:17:05] trying to provoke a mode instability in the region, it's
[00:17:09] a vector for for as you mentioned negative influence in the
[00:17:13] region, and the way that Russia does this
[00:17:17] by enlarge is by promoting energy dependence on Russian
[00:17:20] sources, so the United States is is engaged a
[00:17:24] an active active work across the region to promote energy
[00:17:28] abundance in the region, so the western balcan friends and partners
[00:17:32] would enjoy greater energy security, we do believe
[00:17:36] that by promoting infrastructure as well as
[00:17:39] US and more secure energy
[00:17:43] solutions that our western balcan allies will be more secure
[00:17:46] and and less prone to um to Russian cours. So Russia
[00:17:50] uses their energy both as vehicle to control, but
[00:17:54] also as a way to obtain revenues which they're using for other
[00:17:58] malign purposes. We certainly see that in Ukraine and in other
[00:18:01] places. That is correct. Okay, um, so I want
[00:18:04] to addition
[00:18:05] to their traditional relationship with Russia. Serbia has recently forged close ties to
[00:18:09] China, another one of our adversaries, signing a free trade agreement and deepening
[00:18:13] security cooperation by procuring advanced Chinese defense systems
[00:18:17] and participating in joint military drills. This comes a time when the US is
[00:18:21] trying to increase cooperation with Serbia, creating the US Serbia strategic
[00:18:24] dialogue which seeks to promote, as you talked about, cooperation in energy,
[00:18:28] defense and technology. How does Serbia's increase cooperation with China
[00:18:32] factor into the long-term objectives the US-Serbia
[00:18:35] strategic dialogue? representative fine,
[00:18:39] it it does factor in. what I can assure you is that well, a little bit of
[00:18:43] background here, when Secretary State Rubio met with his
[00:18:46] counterpart, Serbian foreign minister Jurat last
[00:18:49] year, the first time that the United States met with the foreign minister
[00:18:53] at that level since 2007, and so what the
[00:18:57] administration is doing is engaging a more senior level,
[00:19:01] the policy of isolation was not working, and so this constructive
[00:19:05] engagement is designed to make sure that the United States becomes the
[00:19:08] partner of choice, and so we are investing time,
[00:19:11] energy and and promoting US
[00:19:15] solutions and whether it's in defense, economics,
[00:19:18] energy, to build a stronger, more constructive relationship with
[00:19:22] Serbia. Okay, I want to change focus, these are great answers, thank
[00:19:26] you. I want to talk about the department's current approach to the longstanding NATO
[00:19:30] Kosovo force or KFOR, that mission K4. Are
[00:19:33] there any plans for US troop withdraw or reduction from K4? How does?
[00:19:37] the continued US role in K4 and the presence of Camp Bond steel
[00:19:41] contribute to regional stability in Kosovo and the Western Balkans. Well,
[00:19:45] thank you representative fine. Yes, I agree with you. K4 is an important
[00:19:48] force uh for stability in the in the Western
[00:19:51] Balkans. Um, as I mentioned earlier, the size and scope is
[00:19:55] determined by uh NATO's North Atlantic Council. It's
[00:19:58] decided at 32 in Brussels. Uh, we do support a
[00:20:02] for size that's needed to accomplish K4's mission uh, as
[00:20:05] conditions permit. "and we continue as always to try to
[00:20:09] optimize any US contributions to international peacekeeping, we do
[00:20:13] that weighing US policy priorities, mission needs and
[00:20:17] partner capability. okay, last question is, what actions do
[00:20:21] you think need to be taken on the diplomatic front and milestones need to
[00:20:25] be hit to provide the confidence needed to scale down the US
[00:20:28] presence? well, I think uh, any international
[00:20:32] peacekeeping force of this nature, it depends on,
[00:20:36] um, and it's..." based and we'd like to see greater
[00:20:40] progress in the normalization process between Serbia and
[00:20:43] Kosovo, we'd like to see that process resume, it
[00:20:47] may be difficult in the context of ongoing elections.
[00:20:51] in in in in the region, but we'd like to see that process resume because
[00:20:54] Kosovo uh talking to Serbia about normalization would improve
[00:20:58] conditions on the ground. Well, thank
[00:21:00] you. Look, this is an important region the world. There's a lot of challenges, we've got to keep the
[00:21:04] peace, deal with China, deal with Russia. I certainly appreciate what you and the
[00:21:07] administration are doing in that regards and I appreciate your time being here today. Thank
[00:21:11] you, Mr. Chairman, I yield back. Uh, thank you. I appreciate the ranking
[00:21:15] member allowing us to do second round with you, Mr.
[00:21:18] Lawton. and before I recognize or I recognize
[00:21:22] myself for five minutes and I want to introduce into the record the
[00:21:26] statement by Senator Shaheen and Grassly and myself statement
[00:21:30] ahead the funeral of Radco Malodige without
[00:21:33] objection before I get to uh Bosnia
[00:21:36] Herzegovina I just want to make a comment
[00:21:40] that these things do not go unnoticed in the
[00:21:43] region when the United States
[00:21:47] policy starts a strategic
[00:22:21] some the political leaders in
[00:22:23] Serbia in Bosnia already, the rule of
[00:22:27] law is a whole mark in western liberal
[00:22:29] democracies, but it's taken some nations centuries to
[00:22:33] get there, when we look at the former high
[00:22:37] representative Christian Schmidt, his use the
[00:22:41] bond powers and he imposed international governance,
[00:22:45] we realize now they don't cure local instability, in some
[00:22:49] instances they...
[00:22:50] to have destabilized Bosnia Herzegovina and my view,
[00:22:54] the next high representative must take the
[00:22:57] position the ultimate goal of closing that
[00:23:01] office when appropriate, and when appropriate is probably the operative
[00:23:05] term here,
[00:23:07] and I want to explore with you, given
[00:23:11] the issues we have with the European organizations, the
[00:23:14] various European organizations,
[00:23:18] why would we not? want the next high
[00:23:22] representative to be a US
[00:23:25] representative, thank you, chairman,
[00:23:29] self, um, I don't want to prejudge who the next
[00:23:33] high representative will be, um, as you know, Christian
[00:23:36] Schmith resigned effective on June 30th, uh, the,
[00:23:40] I can tell you as we look forward, that the
[00:23:44] current acting high representative, he was his deputy has a
[00:23:48] senior US diplomat, and i can
[00:23:52] assure you as well that acting high
[00:23:55] representative enjoys the necessary
[00:23:59] authority to to help promote stability in the region, especially as we
[00:24:03] run up to elections in Bosnia and Herzegov and
[00:24:07] i don't want to prejudge, i will just
[00:24:08] say by tradition it has been a a
[00:24:12] European that has filled that role,
[00:24:15] but in terms of successor to christian
[00:24:19] schmidth. European didn't replace him because uh there wasn't
[00:24:22] European consensus on who that would be. Yeah, thank you.
[00:24:26] Exactly. So
[00:24:28] how reasonable is it to expect that BH will meet
[00:24:32] the 5 plus two criteria in let's say five
[00:24:35] years? Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. I
[00:24:38] i i when it comes to the Western Balkans, I'm always hesitant to
[00:24:42] speculate about the future. But what I can what I can assure
[00:24:46] you is that we will work, we share your sentiment.
[00:24:50] that um international international supervision of sovereign
[00:24:54] state is is is 30 years after a
[00:24:57] conflict,
[00:24:59] it just isn't isn't the state of state of affairs that we'd like to
[00:25:03] see, as you point out, there are specific criteria for phasing out the role,
[00:25:07] the high representative, those haven't been achieved, but we continue
[00:25:11] to work with right now the acting high representative to promote stability in the
[00:25:14] region and we'll continue to do so, but you
[00:25:18] yourself have said we want to step back on the US
[00:25:22] political and move toward the commercial, at partner
[00:25:26] of choice, I think is your term, but uh,
[00:25:30] stability, we're 30 years on from from Dayton, 30, 30
[00:25:34] plus years on from Dayton, and as you say
[00:25:37] yourself, they are they are not meeting the 5 plus2 criteria,
[00:25:41] so
[00:25:41] I think I think we need to
[00:25:45] think about perhaps
[00:25:49] lesser... movements that we can do as a
[00:25:52] US policy position, well thank you, chairman,
[00:25:56] self, I can assure you that we don't want to
[00:25:59] see excessive internet. national
[00:26:02] interventionism in the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
[00:26:06] as I mentioned in my opening statement, we we favor local leaders
[00:26:10] forging local solutions to local problems, and I think you're
[00:26:14] rightly point out, when when we look at stability,
[00:26:18] prosperity or commercial commercial prosperity
[00:26:21] is, they're two sides the same coin, they're mutually reinforcing, and we
[00:26:25] we we clearly want to promote both uh as we move
[00:26:29] forward. Thank you, and before I before I yield, I will... say
[00:26:32] that uh, I think Bosnia Herzegovina, flying apart is
[00:26:36] probably not outside the realm the
[00:26:40] possibility, particularly given the RS
[00:26:43] positions. With that, I yield back and I recognize Mr.
[00:26:46] Keeding. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I think this morning
[00:26:50] we've heard in this committee rare
[00:26:54] example of bipartisan concern
[00:26:58] for Serbian relationships with Russia and China.
[00:27:03] now that goes both sides the isle and I think the members here have
[00:27:07] been uh quite clear on that uh
[00:27:10] and uh I think it was good that the chair
[00:27:13] highlighted the fact in terms the uh
[00:27:17] strategic dialogue that the US Serbian
[00:27:20] strategic dialogue went forward while the US Kosovo
[00:27:24] strategic dialogue remained suspended uh important to
[00:27:28] highlight
[00:27:29] I do think that the office of uh high
[00:27:32] representative is critical and I want to reaffirm support
[00:27:36] for that office. I do want to put the caviad in that
[00:27:40] I think
[00:27:41] that the administration should work with Europe uh to find a consensus in
[00:27:45] dealing with someone that will reaffirm the Dayton agreement in
[00:27:48] particular. I want to get back to the strategic
[00:27:51] dialogue issue uh you're
[00:27:55] correct sir and saying that uh that centered around
[00:27:58] energy cooperation and the importance of
[00:28:02] dealing with that issue, but it didn't seem to deal with lot of other
[00:28:06] issues. uh, they went ahead with the strategic
[00:28:10] dialogue in July, and it
[00:28:13] gave another appearance, at least in my view, that it was to
[00:28:17] bolster Vuçic ahead of his own elections in
[00:28:21] October by doing those, by timing it that
[00:28:24] way, and uh,
[00:28:28] I just think that one important issue that we addressed to many, of
[00:28:32] us did anyways this morning, I want to ask you, was that address
[00:28:36] too, was it the Russian and
[00:28:39] the and the PRC, maline influence, part of those
[00:28:42] discussions, that's something that people here showed concern
[00:28:46] both sides the is on this morning, and it's certainly if there were going to
[00:28:49] be there was going to be a strategic dialogue,
[00:28:52] did it include specifically discussion of Russian
[00:28:56] and PRC, malign influence, something that
[00:29:00] clearly should have been addressed, it's part of that.
[00:29:02] dialogue, well, thank you, ranking member
[00:29:06] Keeding for for the important question, what I can assure is that the
[00:29:10] strategic dialogue,
[00:29:13] which took place as you said in July
[00:29:16] had nothing to do with with the electoral process in
[00:29:20] Serbia, but I can also,
[00:29:23] I must say it did give an appearance that way, go ahead, what
[00:29:27] I can also assure you is that is part of our diplomatic dialogue
[00:29:30] with all our Western Balcan partner. uh, we
[00:29:34] we we promote the United States as the partner of choice, and we also
[00:29:38] warn about the um, the dangers, the
[00:29:41] pitfalls, so how do you, I'm concerned too, and I brought up
[00:29:45] with the pay to play uh report that we issued this
[00:29:48] morning, how the US is doing that,
[00:29:52] how they're showing support, and what
[00:29:55] channels that support goes through,
[00:29:58] specifically the fact that the lobbyists used?
[00:30:03] uh uh for dodics de-listing
[00:30:07] were people that had committed crimes uh, probably not the
[00:30:11] first in the list of people you would normally have,
[00:30:14] but why were they there? it's because the close relationship with this
[00:30:18] administration, they were pardoned by this administration, one them was a high
[00:30:22] official in this administration, the other was his
[00:30:24] attorney, so of all the people in the world
[00:30:28] lobbying, those were the people that were there, that gives an appearance.
[00:30:32] as well in terms of corruption issues. you also look
[00:30:36] at uh the president's
[00:30:39] son-in-law uh getting involved in billion dollar
[00:30:43] business interest, private interest, who's also an onboy
[00:30:47] special representative for the president uh seemingly
[00:30:50] globally uh right now, and and in
[00:30:54] spite of you know fierce opposition in the
[00:30:58] countries that he was dealing with