HEAVY BLOW TO VUČIĆ: Bill arrives in US Congress calling for sanctions against Serbian president for failing to meet students’ demands!

Two members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the lower house of the US Congress, from the ruling Republican and opposition Democratic parties, today presented a bill calling for sanctions against Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić if he fails to respond to students’ anti-corruption demands and cut ties with Russia, China and Iran.

Republican from South Carolina Joe Wilson and Democrat from Massachusetts Bill Keating presented a bill calling for sanctions and a visa ban on individuals who undermine democratic processes, peace, stability and territorial integrity in the Western Balkans, the Washington-based newspaper The Hill reports.

Wilson told The Hill that Serbia under Vučić has “deliberately moved further away from the rule of law and closer to the enemies of freedom such as war criminal (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, the Communist Party of China and the terrorist regime in Tehran.”

“Despite widespread protests over corruption, Vučić’s government threatens to destabilize the region and expand its space. The people of Serbia deserve better than that,” Wilson said.

Keating also pointed out that the bill makes it clear that Vučić and other Serbian government officials must make progress in the fight against corruption and counter the influence of Iran, Russia and China.

“Democracy, the rule of law and the fight against corruption must remain key pillars in US-Serbia relations,” Keating said.

CALLING FOR ACCOUNTABILITY

The text of the bill directly calls Vučić to account for the excessive use of force against demonstrators, calls for an investigation and accountability for the deadly collapse of the canopy at the railway station in Novi Sad, and expresses concern over Serbia’s deepening ties with Iran, Russia and China, the newspaper reports.

“The enduring interest of the United States is a stable, democratic and sovereign Serbia that is committed to peace and security in the region, firmly rooted in Euro-Atlantic institutions and free from malign foreign influence,” the bill states.

Criticism of Vučić in the bill is “in sharp contrast with the generally warm relationship that the longtime Serbian leader has with US President Donald Trump,” The Hill points out, adding that Wilson and Keating’s initiative serves as a message of solidarity with the student protests in Serbia.

The newspaper also reports that Vučić has announced that parliamentary elections will be held in October, but that there are concerns about whether they will be free and fair or whether the Serbian leader will use them to consolidate his power in the country.

Freedom House ranks Serbia as a “partly free” country, the newspaper reports, adding that Vučić’s Serbian Progressive Party in 2025 “consistently eroded political rights and civil liberties, putting pressure on independent media, the political opposition and civil society organizations.”

Trump last spoke by phone with Vučić in 2024, after his victory in the presidential election, but they have not met since 2020. Nevertheless, Vučić hosted Donald Trump Jr. in Belgrade twice last year, while the first US-Serbia strategic dialogue was held in Washington in July, which is considered a significant improvement in relations between the two countries, The Hill reports.

Wilson and Keating also address the strategic dialogue in the bill – they call on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to raise four key issues in the dialogue with Belgrade: Serbia’s relations with Russia, China and Iran, ensuring free and fair elections in Serbia, reforms in the field of the rule of law and the fight against corruption, and strengthening democratic governance, freedom of the media and freedom of assembly in Serbia, the Washington-based newspaper adds.

CALLING FOR ACCOUNTABILITY

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