Serbia–US: Hanrahan Says Washington Wants Strategic Dialogue to Continue

US Assistant Secretary of State Brendan Hanrahan said on Friday, 13 November, that Washington wants to continue its strategic dialogue with Serbia under the new government that the Student List is due to form. Speaking to public broadcaster RTS at the end of a visit to Belgrade, he said the dialogue launched this year had been productive and that he hoped it would carry on, Danas reported.

Meeting with the Student List

During the visit Hanrahan met representatives of the Student List and the student movement. The US Embassy in Belgrade said on X that he had discussed shared priorities with Serbian partners, as well as upcoming opportunities and ways to strengthen relations. Neither the Student List nor the student movement published their own account of the talks by Friday evening.

Hanrahan congratulated the Student List on its victory in the 25 October election and welcomed what he called a peaceful transfer of power, saying the signals so far suggested things were moving in a good direction. He described Serbia's role in the stability of the Western Balkans as very important and constructive.

Energy, NIS and trade

Among shared interests he listed regional stability, economic cooperation and trade, and police and military cooperation. Asked about oil company NIS, which is majority-owned by Russian companies and under US sanctions, he declined to comment on negotiations over the Russian stake. He said one US aim is to strengthen Serbia's energy sovereignty, and that American companies could invest in Serbian infrastructure, gas and oil. He noted that the two countries have had diplomatic relations for 145 years.

Talks with Moscow's ambassador too

The visit came a day after Student List representatives met Russia's ambassador in Belgrade, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, to discuss relations between the two countries, Tanjug reported. The incoming majority has not yet set out its foreign-policy priorities in detail. Its government must be formed within 90 days of the new parliament's constitutive session on 17 November.