The well-known German newspaper "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" (FAZ) emphasizes that the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, and the prime minister of Albania, Edi Rama, can benefit from business ties with Donald Trump's son-in-law. FAZ calls the Washington agreements, signed by Vuçiqi and Avdullah Hoti, documents without substance.
In an analysis of the effects that Donald Trump's victory in the presidential elections may have in the Balkans, the German newspaper "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" writes that some politicians in the Balkans are happy, "but no one has shown this joy as openly as Milorad Dodiku". , who is the president of the Bosnian Serb Republic.
The most powerful politician of the Serb population of Bosnia-Herzegovina even organized a party in honor of the former and future American president. Mocking the American embassy in Sarajevo, which, according to him, did not want to organize a party, Dodik said that he took on this task himself.
"Dodik's joy", underlines FAZ, "is somewhat surprising, because he is under American sanctions." (...) However, Serbian nationalists like Dodik hope for a friendlier environment under the next rulers in Washington".
The German newspaper recalls that Dodik had said in a television interview in 2023 that an America led by Trump would create "a better geopolitical situation" for the Republic of Serbia; he expressed regret that he had not announced the secession of Republika Srpska from Bosnia during Trump's first term. "But if Trump wins again, I don't think I would hesitate," added Dodiku.
"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" adds that the environment could become more favorable for politicians like Dodik if Trump gives an important role to his confidante, Richard Grenell. In 2019, Trump also appointed his former ambassador to Germany as "special envoy for peace negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia". Hoping to score a quick foreign policy success for his boss before the US elections, Grenell used hammer diplomacy to broker a deal between Belgrade and Pristina. Initially, he used American influence in Kosovo to oust Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who had shown resistance.
His successor, Avdullah Hoti, backed by Washington, and Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vucic, then signed two separate documents at the White House, which Trump touted as a historic achievement, though they were largely without substance.
"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" brings to attention the fact that Grenell has maintained constant contact with Vucic and the prime minister of Albania, Edi Rama. Grenell has not hidden the fact that the connections he had made as Trump's representative, he wanted to turn into business benefits through investments in the region: "No one should apologize for wanting to make money," Grenell said in an interview in Albania regarding his plans in the region. Even Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has tangible business interests in the region. An investment fund managed or co-managed by Kushner, with billions of dollars in capital from Saudi Arabia, is pursuing major real estate projects in Belgrade and on the Albanian Mediterranean coast.
In the center of the Serbian capital, it is expected that the old headquarters of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army, which was destroyed in 1999 during the NATO war, will be replaced by a real estate complex. It is planned to build a luxury hotel, 1500 apartments and a museum, which will commemorate the "NATO aggression against Serbia", so it would overturn the historical facts and present Belgrade as a victim, writes FAZ.
Large tourist complexes are expected to be built in Albania. Whether these investments will be realized remains to be seen. But the political benefits that Vucic and Rama would have from business ties with Trump's relatives and friends are clear. It is equally clear that in Sarajevo and Pristina this would be seen as a threat. FAZ reports on an investigation by the Finance Committee of the American Senate, which had revealed that officials from Albania and Serbia had approached the fund associated with Kushner, "Affinity Partners", with investment proposals.
The committee's chairman, Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, warned of further investigations. He particularly criticized the plan to build a museum for "victims of NATO aggression" as an "anti-American historical revisionism". He called it "completely inappropriate" for an American company to participate in such a project, as it would embellish the then Serbian policy of ethnic cleansing and genocide. Moreover, he emphasized that there was a risk that Serbia and Albania would gain significant control over the investments of the possible family of the next American president, writes FAZ.
