Two hundred year old friendship

Edward Ferguson does not shy away from journalistic questions. Although his language is diplomatic, his answers are clear and precise. In an interview for "Vreme", the ambassador talks about Serbian-British cooperation and certain different points of view of the two governments, the resolution on Srebrenica, the case in the village of Banjska, election cycles and challenges of Serbia in the world, but also about numerous successful examples of partnership that, unfortunately, are often not adequately noticed and recorded.

"When we take into account that there were five important visits from the United Kingdom to Belgrade in the last month alone, this speaks best of the range of British-Serbian mutual communication," British Ambassador to Serbia Edward Ferguson told "Vreme". "The prime minister's special envoy for the Western Balkans, Lord Peach, discussed regional stability; trade envoy Martin Vickers on the increase in trade, which last year topped £11 billion for the first time; the director general of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy signed an agreement with the new president of the Serbian Parliament on cooperation in improving the work of the Serbian Parliament... The director general of the UK Export Finance (UKEF) agency, which offers up to five billion pounds to support large transformative projects in infrastructure, was also in Belgrade and the energy sector of Serbia, and Baroness Catherine Ashton - XNUMX years after the Brussels Agreement - was in Belgrade to discuss the future direction of Serbia's foreign policy. All this speaks of our positive and practical cooperation."

"WEATHER" These are the points that unite the two governments. Where do you see the differences??

EDWARD FERGUSON: Between any two governments there are issues on which there will be different views. I think it is important that we have an open conversation about everything and that this conversation is based on mutual respect.

Does the case in the village of Banjska belong to that corpus of different viewpoints??

What happened in Banjska, in September, is a serious and completely unacceptable incident, which led to the death of a Kosovo police officer and three Serbs. From the UK government's point of view, peace and stability in the region is paramount. Anything that threatens them is a source of great concern. That is why we would like to see transparency on this issue and accountability of those involved in the incident in the village of Banjska.

And the resolution on Srebrenica?

It's a complicated question and for many people - a very emotional question. For this region to move forward, there must be a process of dialogue and a process of reconciliation. It is important that I also explain two things about the UK government's approach to this issue, because I don't think it is being properly understood. First - for us, the term genocide is not a political term, but a legal one, and it can only be used when a competent international court determines that the conditions for talking about the legal definition of genocide have been met, which they are in the case of Srebrenica. That is the only reason we use the term genocide for Srebrenica and the reason why we do not use it in some other situations when there are no court verdicts.

Second, we are very clear that using the term genocide in no way implies a collective condemnation of Serbs, Serbia or any group of people. It is important to read some of the original court rulings, as they specifically address this. For example, the case of General Krstić, when it was first ruled that genocide took place in Srebrenica. Presiding judge Almiro Rodríguez from Portugal explicitly said that a clear distinction must be made between individual and collective responsibility: "I judge the accused, I do not judge the people." I think that is very important. The only people responsible for the crime of genocide in Srebrenica are the people who carried it out. It is extremely important to conduct a responsible dialogue and solve the problems of the past in order for the countries of this region to move forward.

Do you see any changes in the electoral conditions in Serbia between the two election cycles - that of the 17. December and this one scheduled for 2. Jun?

The United Kingdom supported the ODIHR mission in December, financially and in personnel. We have been supporting for many years and
CRTA, the domestic election monitoring organization. Our goal is to identify practical things to improve the integrity of the electoral system and institutions in Serbia.
ODIHR has compiled a number of recommendations. There is an important beginning of the process of political dialogue between the ruling party and the opposition parties, with the involvement of civil society. Now we expect progress - moving from dialogue to implementation. We hope for concrete changes that will strengthen the electoral system in Serbia before June 2, but that process must continue even after the elections.

Let's rephrase the question - are the election conditions such that we can expect fair elections?

In the ODIHR's conclusions, there were concerns about the election conditions. Now we have to see if the recommendations are implemented. Part of these problems concerns the transparency of the voter list and access to public services. We hope to see progress on this front.

How do you see the media image of Serbia?? Certain politicians in power or their supporters tend to accuse Great Britain of working against Serbian interests...

The United Kingdom is still, as it has been for almost two hundred years, a friend of Serbia. Of course, in any relationship there are ups and downs, but for a long time in this period we were very close friends, including periods of alliance in two world wars. My ambition as the British ambassador to Serbia is to build the most modern, positive and far-reaching partnership with Serbia, as far as I can.

As for the media image of Serbia, tensions over Kosovo, non-imposition of sanctions against Russia, graffiti about Ratko Mladić on the walls and similar stories represent a challenge for Serbia, because they send a negative image to the international public from here. On another note, there are a lot of good things going on here. Some of the most beautiful stories about the relations between our people or the cooperation of our institutions rarely end up in the media, and for that I am extremely sorry. For example, a few weeks ago, two cardiologists from London's Great Ormond Street Hospital were guests of the Belgrade Mother and Child Institute. Together with the great team of the Institute, led by Dr. Mila Stajević, they performed several operations to help children with complicated heart diseases. These are great stories about British-Serbian cooperation, which literally mean life. I think it is very important to talk about positive things in the economic or cultural sense. I am convinced that the real interest of Serbia is sometimes hidden within some of your media, which broadcast a very one-dimensional view.

At the beginning of the year, the embassy released a statement saying that "we believe that there are elements in Serbia that directly act in the interests of Russia and by threatening stability and democratic capacities in the region". Who does this apply to??

If I wanted to say what those elements are, I would do so publicly. Some things remain in discussions between state governments and are not for the public. It is evident that there are media in Serbia that are channels for spreading Russian disinformation. I am referring to President Putin's war of aggression in Ukraine and, at times, the role of other countries, including Great Britain. What the UK places great importance on is the fact that it is very important to support not only independent media in countries around the world, but also high quality media whose work is based on facts and not on disinformation or conspiracy theories. It's okay to disagree, but if you stick to the facts, we have a better chance of finding common ground.

Serbia got a new government. Were you surprised by the appointment of Aleksandar Vulin as vice president and Nenad Popović as minister without portfolio? Namely, both are under US sanctions.

I was not surprised because it was announced before I went to the National Assembly. We will judge the government by its performance. But if there is an intention to send a message to the international community with some of the appointments mentioned, I hope we will hear from the government what that message is.

photo: marija janković

How do you see Serbia's relations with Russia and China at the moment??

Serbia has a long history of cultural and religious ties with Russia. On the other hand, China is a relatively new actor in the Western Balkans. We mentioned the war in Ukraine. One of the things we support the Government of Ukraine for is the right to choose your friends and allies. They want to be friends with the European Union and
NATO, and President Putin does not want that, which is the reason why he attacked them. That is why I would not tell Serbia who should be its friend. At the same time, Serbia was very clear that its strategic goal is to join the European Union. However, in an increasingly polarized world, it is difficult to maintain that balance between growing partnership with the European Union while maintaining friendship and relations with other countries.

China is clearly becoming an important investor in Serbia, but the fact remains that a large part of Serbian trade takes place with the European Union. On the other hand, Serbia mostly exports raw materials to China. That is why I think that the relationship with Europe is much deeper and richer. China is an important country and President Xi was in Belgrade. He also came to London. From the perspective of the UK Government, China is an important country and we look to work with them where we can. There are problems like climate change and global health that we cannot solve without China. At the same time, we recognize that China can be a challenging partner, so we approach this relationship carefully.

How do you assess Serbia's relations with the European Union?, Great Britain and the USA?

The United Kingdom fully supports Serbia's aspirations to join the European Union. We may have left the European Union for some reasons of our own, but like the USA and Norway, which are also not part of it, we fully recognize and understand why Serbia should strive for a European future. We will continue to support that aspiration.

You have been in Belgrade for nine months. What are you particularly happy about??

I am proud that we are building a very positive, far-reaching relationship, on matters that are important to the United Kingdom and Serbia. We from the UK are increasing trade links with Serbia. Most of that growth is in very important, modern economic areas, such as the digital sector, biotechnologies, artificial intelligence... We are also building a very strong portfolio of transformative projects in key infrastructure and energy investments in Serbia to enable the Serbian economy to move forward. One such example is the Moravian Corridor, which is also financed from UKEF funds. We are also deepening our partnerships in the field of security with several institutions in Serbia in order to address problems such as illegal migration and organized crime. Our armed forces cooperate closely in the field of military medicine, education and side by side in the UN peacekeeping mission in Cyprus. In addition, we are working to improve our cultural ties. In December last year, we held a British-Serbian fashion show, where we brought together British and Serbian designers. Later this year, Serbia will open a cultural embassy in London - a great place for Serbia to showcase its rich cultural heritage and tell that beautiful story about itself. All in all, I am proud that we are building a broad, positive and more modern partnership. I try to devote as much time as possible to this plan.