Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated that the withdrawal of the company "Affinity Partners", owned by Jared Kushner - son-in-law of US President Donald Trump - has caused great economic damage to Serbia, causing the country to lose an investment worth at least 750 million euros.
Vučić's statement comes after it was confirmed that Kushner's company has withdrawn from a planned project to build a luxury residential and business complex in Belgrade, which would bear the Trump brand. The project was planned to be built on the site of the former Yugoslav Army General Staff buildings, destroyed during NATO bombing in 1999.
"Great damage was done to Serbia. We lost a great development opportunity. Today, Serbia is being talked about badly, because some claim that this was a bad project," Vučić said. He added that a smaller and weaker project, hastily implemented in Albania, has received great international attention and is expected to have wide publicity, referring to Kushner's plan for investments in Sazan Island. According to him, this project will be widely promoted by the Trump family.
Vučić harshly criticized the opposition and anti-government protesters, stating that a part of Serbian society is acting against its own state interests. “It seems that some people understand the decisions of their leaders better than our people, or a part of our political opposition, which is ready to act against the interests of its own country,” he said.
The project in Serbia was opposed by anti-government protesters, opposition representatives, and cultural heritage experts, who demanded the preservation of the cultural monument status of the former General Staff building and its reconstruction, instead of the development of a luxury complex.
The announcement of Affinity Partners' withdrawal was published on December 15, the same day that the Serbian Organized Crime Prosecutor's Office filed an indictment against Serbian Culture Minister Nikola Sellakovic for alleged legal violations during the process of revoking the cultural monument status of the General Staff building.
In a statement to the Wall Street Journal, a spokesperson for Affinity Partners said the decision to withdraw was made due to strong public polarization. “Since major projects should unite, not divide, and out of respect for the citizens of Serbia and Belgrade, we are withdrawing our application and standing aside this time,” the company spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The Serbian president directly blamed the Prosecutor's Office and the protesters, whom he called "blockers," referring to demonstrators who have been protesting against the Serbian Progressive Party-led government for more than a year. "I will personally make sure that all those who contributed to causing this damage are held accountable," Vučić declared.
He warned that he would personally file criminal charges against all those who, according to him, participated in what he called a "witch hunt" and the destruction of the investment, accusing them of causing economic damage to Serbia.
Vučić categorically rejected allegations of corruption related to this project, emphasizing that "there has never been corruption and it was not the purpose of the project."
Kushner's company did not respond to Radio Free Europe's request for comment after the news of the withdrawal from the project in Belgrade was published.
