BURNS' VISIT TO BRATUNAC AND KOSOVO AND METOHIJA A CLEAR SIGNAL OF A CHANGE IN APPROACH TO THE SERB ISSUE AND VICTIMS

BELGRADE, JULY 8 /SRNA/ - The visit of the US President’s spiritual adviser, Pastor Mark Burns, to Bratunac and Kosovo and Metohija is a clear signal that the new US administration is changing its approach towards Serbian victims and showing an understanding of the position of Serbs, Serbia's career diplomat Zoran Milivojević told SRNA.

Milivojević believes that this reflects the new approach of the US administration, which is planning a strategic dialogue with Serbia, but also confirms what it has done regarding the position of Republika Srpska and respect for it, the lifting of sanctions against President Milorad Dodik and others, as well as its treatment of the High Representative. "This is also confirmation of what that administration has done in terms of advocating a return to the Dayton framework and formula, namely the need for the three peoples to make decisions and for this to be a matter of their will and their interests on the ground," Milivojević stressed. Milivojević said that the new US administration is showing that it wants to view the position of the Serbian people and their interests differently, assessing that Burns' recent visit to Bratunac to attend the commemoration for Serbs killed in the Middle Podrinje and Birač areas is one of the clearest indicators of such a policy. "This visit is very significant and certainly does not run counter to the position of the /Donald Trump/ administration and what reflects its new policy regarding the Serbian people and the Serbian issue," Milivojević stressed. He said that this also shows that the new US administration treats all war victims equally and fully understands the position of Serbs, changing its stance compared with the past. "This is particularly evident in the visit to Kosovo and Metohija," Milivojević added. He believes that this is an opportunity not only to establish better relations with Washington in the medium or long term, but also to address and improve, in a more constructive way, some unresolved issues from the past concerning the status of Republika Srpska, respect for Dayton, as well as the position of Serbs as a whole. "America's support in all of this is crucial and will remain crucial in the period ahead," Milivojević said. He stressed that sending this envoy gives greater importance to the spiritual dimension, that is, to the Christian approach, which is very important. "This also speaks of the closeness of interests when it comes to Christian philosophy and Christian roots shared by the two peoples and the two states," Milivojević said. Commenting on the information that a group of US prosecutors is expected to arrive in Derventa this month and, together with officials of the BiH State Investigation and Protection Agency /SIPA/, take statements from eight camp survivors about the horrors they endured in the notorious camp for Serbs at the Rabić military warehouse in the area of that city during the spring of 1992, Milivojević said that this confirms Washington's position that it is also addressing Serbian victims. "Any action that follows up on the visit and the position on Bratunac that has now been presented, in any case, confirms that the administration has an interest in actively addressing this issue and that it will not change its stance when it comes to Serbian victims and the position of the Serbian people," Milivojević said.