Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday posted an online message about an "excellent conversation" he had with Jared Kushner regarding the "potential for large and long-term investments."
Vucic wrote about the meeting, which took place during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on his official Instagram account and included a photograph. The Serbian leader also enthused about Kushner's investment firm, Affinity Partners, calling the company "one of the largest global players in the field of large investments," according to an English translation.
Kushner founded Affinity Partners in 2021 following the end of his role as a senior adviser to former President Donald Trump, who is also his father-in-law.
Vucic, meanwhile, has been in the news for his public statements criticizing Russia's war in Ukraine. Serbia has long been a prominent ally of Russia, but Vucic's remarks about the war have put a noted strain in his relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On Wednesday, Bloomberg published an interview with Vucic in which he discussed his current relationship with Putin and his stance on Russia's war with Ukraine.
"We, from the very beginning, said that we were not able and we could not support Russia's invasion against Ukraine," Vucic said. "For us, Crimea is Ukraine, Donbas is Ukraine—and it'll remain so."
Though Vucic doesn't condone the war in Ukraine, he has rejected calls from the European Union to join sanctions against Russia over its invasion, even though Serbia has applied to join the EU. Unlike many countries in Europe, Serbia also hasn't closed its national airline to Russia.
Bloomberg noted that Vucic has an economic incentive to maintain relations with Putin since Russia sells natural gas to Serbia below the market rate.
"We are not always jubilant about some of their stances," Vucic told Bloomberg of Moscow. "We have a traditionally good relationship, but it doesn't mean that we support every single decision or most of the decisions that are coming from the Kremlin."
Earlier in the week, Vucic spoke out against Russian websites and social media groups that have published advertisements in the Serbian language seeking volunteers for the mercenary Wagner Group.
"Why do you, from Wagner, call anyone from Serbia when you know that it is against our regulations?" Vucic said on Monday during a TV broadcast, according to Reuters.
Speaking to Radio Free Europe, Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic also warned Serbian citizens not to enlist to fight against Ukraine for Russia.
"This will result in legal consequences once they are able to be held responsible before the state bodies," Vucevic said.
George Mason University Schar School of Policy and Government professor Mark N. Katz told Newsweek that even if leaders from the two countries have disagreements, the citizens of Serbia and Russia enjoy a mutual fondness.
"I would even say that Serbia is to Russia what Israel is to the United States," Katz said. "Putin may be disappointed that Vucic is not supportive of the Russian war against Ukraine, but I don't think that Putin is going to do anything to damage the Serbian public's attachment to Russia."
Newsweek reached out to Kushner and Vucic's office for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more
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