Vučić receives reprimand from State Department for insulting Joseph

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić received a reprimand from the State Department for calling foreign policy analyst Edward Joseph a scoundrel and an Albanian bot. Joseph himself also reacted to Vučić's insults, calling him a manipulator. "Rude is a polite Serbian word for Vučić's irritable behavior. Diplomats should respect the office of the President of Serbia. The one currently in that position? Not so much," the analyst wrote.

In a pre-New Year interview on December 30 last year, the Serbian president, commenting on an article in Vienna's Der Standard which, among other things, stated that the removal of barricades does not bring peace, and that it is particularly disturbing that the EU and NATO agreed to the demands of militants under Vučić, said that this precisely shows a small success achieved at the tactical level.

„I don't care what Albanian lobbyists in Der Standard think,“ Vučić said on TV Prva.

He said of Edward Joseph that he is an „Albanian bot“ and a „scoundrel“ who receives a lot of Albanian money.

„The most ordinary scoundrel in Washington who receives a lot of Albanian money. I am not afraid to tell the truth, and all that bothers them. Because we played chess precisely, and not weakly, but strongly, and we will always play strongly and ever more strongly,“ Vučić said.

Joseph wrote the following on Twitter on that occasion:

„On December 30, President Vučić violently claimed on Serbian TV that I am an Albanian agent and that I 'receive a lot of Albanian money,' while only reporting part of it as income. For the record, this claim is completely false. Vučić has no evidence to support his serious accusations, because such a connection does not exist and never has. My views are the product of ten years of fieldwork – in all conflicts in the Balkans, including the war years. My policy advocacy on Kosovo centers on the well-being of Kosovo Serbs – not on Belgrade's 'compensation.' Kosovo's unresolved status benefits Belgrade, not the Kosovo Serb community or Serbian heritage in Kosovo, which are key to preserving regional stability,“ Joseph stated, and then asked:

„So what is it that stung Vučić and his ambassador in Washington, Marko Đurić, who also attacked me? Was it that I exposed Vučić's continued manipulation of the US/EU? Was that the most important lever of those who do not recognize NATO? Using Kosovo Serbs as pawns?“.

Joseph further states that resorting to a personal attack on a critic suggests there is a basis for criticism.

„And it suggests that Vučić is more susceptible to public criticism than diplomats realize. Instead of calming a person who defies his country's obligations as an EU candidate, at the most serious crisis in Europe since World War II, it is high time Vučić be held accountable. By suggesting I am a lobbyist for money, Vučić also opens the door to questions about whom Belgrade and Banja Luka pay for influence – and what policies/projects they push in Washington,“ the American analyst wrote and concluded: .

„Finally, by slandering me, Vučić once again revealed his true character. 'Rude' is a polite Serbian word for Vučić's irritable behavior. Diplomats should respect the office of the President of Serbia. The one currently in that position? Not so much”.

The State Department's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs also reacted to Vučić's statements.

„Dirty tactics, such as those used against Edward Joseph, have no place in democratic societies,“ their Twitter post reads.

„Independent voices and civil society organizations promote accountability and transparency. We appreciate those building a peaceful society in the Western Balkans,“ their Twitter post reads, accompanied by a photo of U.S. Special Envoy for the Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar and Joseph.