Son-in-law in circulation: Serbia went for a deal with Trump family member
Serbian authorities have revoked the status of cultural heritage sites for the Defense Ministry and General Staff buildings that were damaged during NATO bombing raids in 1999. This means that now the son-in-law of the US president-elect Jared Kushner will be able to build a multi-storey business center and a housing and hotel complex in place of these buildings. This is actively opposed by the opposition and experts in the field of architecture. Details - in the material "Izvestia".
A hotel instead of a destroyed building
In Serbia, the decision of the authorities to cancel the status of cultural heritage objects for two buildings that were damaged during the NATO bombing in 1999 came into force. These are the buildings of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, which received the protection status in 2005. Now they can legally be demolished.
This will allow Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President-elect Donald Trump, to launch his project in the Serbian capital. In May, authorities signed an agreement with Kushner's firm to allocate a large plot of land in the center of Belgrade, where just the buildings of the Ministry of Defense and General Staff are located, for free use for 99 years.
Trump's son-in-law plans to build a high-rise office and residential complex on this site.
The bombed building of the Yugoslav Defense Ministry in Belgrade, Serbia
"The economic progress in Serbia over the past decade has been impressive. This development will further elevate Belgrade to the leading international destination it is becoming," Kushner said in confirming the deal. The cost of the project is estimated at $500 million.
According to The New York Times, along with partners, Trump's son-in-law plans to build a hotel, retail space, and a museum and memorial to honor those killed and injured in NATO bombings. A statement from Kushner's company said the memorial will be designed "in collaboration with Serbian architects" and will be owned by the Serbian government.
In 2013, Donald Trump himself considered building a hotel on the site in downtown Belgrade.
This is opposed by experts in the field of architecture and the opposition. In particular, the former head of the General Staff, one of the leaders of the opposition Zdravko Ponos. According to him, President Aleksandar Vucic went for it to gain the support of Donald Trump.
Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor to the President of the United States.
The Republican Committee for the Protection of Cultural Monuments is sure that the decision was made in "gross violation of the law on cultural heritage." After all, it requires the consent of the Republican committee, and it was not obtained. The International Council for the Preservation of Monuments and Sites also criticizes the initiative of the Serbian authorities.
The opposition in Serbia is preparing to organize protests. They have already taken place this spring, when demonstrators blocked traffic in front of the former Defense Ministry headquarters, holding placards with the words "Don't give the headquarters of our army to American offshore companies!".
Many in the country oppose this Kushner project because of the U.S. role in NATO bombings. Some House Democrats have not endorsed it either. They asked Republicans on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee to investigate the circumstances of the deal, but they took no action.
The Serbian authorities have changed tactics
This time the Serbian president, unlike in 2020, did not openly support any US presidential candidate. Then he bet on Donald Trump, and Joseph Biden won.
The pro-government media, in turn, unequivocally supported the Republican nominee, talking about him in an exclusively positive way.
TheSerbian leader expressed readiness to develop major projects with Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his son Donald Trump Jr, one of the heads of The Trump Organization, which manages the business projects of Donald Trump Sr. The son of the 45th US president traveled to Serbia in late September. He met with a group of Serbian businessmen to discuss American investments in the country.
In addition, Trump's former special envoy to the Balkans, Richard Grenell, who is expected to hold a significant foreign policy post, frequently travels to Belgrade. Grenell was actively involved in negotiating a deal between Kushner and the Serbian authorities. In addition, last year the diplomat received a government award from the Serbian president.
According to Grenell, his involvement in the current project "reflects his belief that the U.S. should help rebuild a place in whose bombing it played a role 25 years ago." He added that it could be "part of the healing of relations between the two countries."
Trump's son-in-law also plans to build two luxury hotels in neighboring Albania. These deals in the Balkans are considered some of the biggest he has made since founding his investment firm.
What the experts think
Andrei Kortunov, research director of the Russian International Affairs Council, noted in a conversation with Izvestia that Donald Trump has many ties to the Balkans, including the nationality of his wife Melania.
- This region is not completely foreign to him, but it is obvious that, as in other cases, he is trying to find opportunities to make money for himself personally or for the United States as a whole. His relations with many countries are determined by the extent to which they are ready to provide such an opportunity," the expert explained.
The political analyst added that real estate is his first and main business.
- This is something that Trump is good at, and it is probably something that has a certain priority for him. How much this will help on the Kosovo issue is hard to say, because there will be no change in American approaches to Kosovo. It is unlikely that the position that was formed a quarter of a century ago will be revised under Trump," the specialist believes.
He explained that some movement is still possible. Trump needs a political victory, and if he sees an opportunity to achieve it in the Balkans, then we can expect that he will try to use it, the analyst summarized.
Ekaterina Entina, director of the Center for Mediterranean Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics and head of the Black Sea-Mediterranean Studies Department at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, noted in a conversation with Izvestia that this initiative is aimed at renewing and giving positive dynamics to Serbian-American relations.
- And it is important that over the past 10 years, Belgrade and Washington have had a rather positive trend in bilateral relations. This decision fits into the logic of Serbia's and the United States' desire to turn over the black pages of their history. I strongly doubt that the building itself can be a very tasty piece for the future Trump administration," the political scientist said.
According to the expert, it is more likely to give some symbolism to the new state of Serbian-American relations.
- Republicans are more preferable for the Serbs, because all the troubles of the Serbs and all the difficulties usually occurred under democratic administrations. At the same time, neither Belgrade, judging by Vucic's statements, nor the expert community foresees any radical change in Serbian-American relations," the Balkanist believes.
Belgrade, Serbia
The specialist added that, by and large, bilateral relations are positive, but under very great pressure on sensitive issues for Belgrade. And in practice, it may be even stronger than under a democratic administration. According to Entina, this could happen because Trump is also interested in success in the Balkans.
- Neither Democrats nor Republicans see this success outside the context of recognizing Kosovo's independence, the only question is the price of this recognition. In my opinion, in general, the fact that a half-destroyed building will disappear from the image of the Old City, in some context, is not bad for the urban ensemble," the political scientist believes.
The expert believes that the memory of those events can be preserved in the public consciousness in many different ways, and not only by leaving the wreckage of buildings in the center of the city as a symbol of unjust bombing. In the Balkanist's view, it is quite another matter if a deal is made to blot out this history and never remember it at all.
- As our study "The Long Echo of 1999", which we presented in Belgrade and which makes sociological deductions about the events of 1999 among Serbs 25 years later, has shown, Serbian society has not forgotten those events and has not forgiven them. Another thing is that there can be many channels of oblivion, not just a specific architectural object," Entina summarized.
"This is a conflict of interest in the truest sense: the president of the United States should be advancing the interests of the United States, not the financial interests of family members," said Adav Noti, executive director of the Campaign Legal Center, which tracks ethics in the federal government.
He said 99 percent of the money placed by investors in Kushner's firm came from foreign sources, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
At the same time, Jared Kushner himself believes that his foreign investments will not constitute a conflict of interest, as he has no plans to return to the White House.
