Selim Ibraimi-There has always been a dilemma about the right moment for a state to push a policy related to repositioning issues in the international arena. For example, here we can bring the small states with no power and voice in global politics, and always seek help and support from large states. Sometimes, changing situations put countries in a bad position, because of the position that country has, the economic power it possesses, or simply the natural resources it possesses. In this regard, usually, when talking about resources or strategic materials, the policies of powerful states can change in favor of small states or states that claim a greater role in regional politics. As a case, we can take Serbia with its lithium reserves, the role of the EU, and the US, where there are great chances that many issues will end differently in the Balkans. The position of the countries around Serbia will not be the same, which means that their role will be weaker in relations with the US and the EU.
The whole recent debate about strategic materials in Serbia has an earlier origin. It is not only about the Serbian natural assets but about a pragmatic policy of the US (of the West), the one of the 20th century that dates back to WW2 and that at that time was mainly related to ideological divisions, while today it is not. If then it was estimated that the transition to the Western bloc was a strategic act, today in the 21st century, it is thought that agreements on natural resources serve as a way to provide a state with a larger geopolitical-economic bloc. What did the international situation look like eight decades ago?
A world divided by the greats, from Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill with their spheres of influence since the Tehran Conference (1943), remained as such until 1989. In the Balkans, in the then Yugoslavia, after the end of WW2 Belgrade opened a new diplomatic relationship with Western countries. The big opening came after the Tito-Stalin split in 1948. Yugoslavia did not become a member of the USSR-led Warsaw Pact. Tito, with Nasser and Nehru, continued the policy of leaving the USSR, with the establishment of the League of Non-Aligned Countries. Strongly motivated by Tito’s policy, the US for almost two decades with all diplomatic and financial means began to help Tito’s Yugoslavia.
American air companies from the US to Belgrade became common. The Yugoslav airline JAT opened several airlines to the US, while the American airline Pan-American in 1963 also started flights to Belgrade. Trade opportunities greatly increased between the US and Yugoslavia. There was no shortage of military aid for Belgrade. But the big break that influenced the US and the West in general to help Yugoslavia was Tito’s departure from Stalin. So something had to happen between the two countries for the US, more specifically the administration of President Harry Truman in 1948 to decide to change its course toward Yugoslavia. Therefore, it should never be said that some actions in foreign policy and diplomacy cannot be repeated between countries. In the contemporary time in the current Serbian-American relations, we must see the presentation of some characteristics of the former American policy towards Yugoslavia in today’s Serbia. For other people and opponents of the current American policy, which is characterized as an American comforting policy towards Serbia, and in fact, there is nothing new in these relations, such a friendly American attitude towards Serbia is understandable in the context of using a rule or existing card in American diplomacy not only towards Serbia. Only a decade-long crisis in Serbian-American relations has been an obstacle to the rapid development of Serbian-American relations.
We can mention one case from the history behind WW2 that has influenced these relations to be so excellent today. In 1950, it was the American officer and then General Omar Bradley who would strongly bind the US and Yugoslavia. An outspoken supporter of providing American aid and improving relations with Yugoslavia, in a speech to the US Congress on November 30, 1950, he stated: “In the first place, if we can get them (Yugoslavs) out of the camp hostile and make them neutral is one step. If you can make them act like a threat, that’s a second step. If you can get them to actively participate on your side, that’s a step further and, of course, if you have an engagement where their efforts are integrated with yours defensively, that would be a further step. further”.
This speech can be considered as the starting point of the first phase of US military and economic aid to Yugoslavia, and today to Serbia in various forms. Also on November 29, 1950, on the Republic Day of the RSFJ, President Harry Truman asked the US Congress to pass the “Yugoslav Emergency Relief Act”. Indeed it did, economic and military aid reached Yugoslavia, where despite the deterioration of relations in 1991, today the two countries are at the same points in relations as they once were, where the US needed a Tito to withdraw Yugoslavia from the Soviet sphere, while today in Serbia it needs another figure to also move Belgrade away from Moscow.
In current relations, the US has pushed the EU into a lithium reserves deal with Serbia, which is giving Belgrade some opportunities to absorb more US and EU finance while giving Serbia time. How successful the Americans will be with this repetition policy will be seen in the coming years. American policy with Serbia is therefore based precisely on the specifics of the Cold War, where, according to some analysts, it is at the disadvantage of other small nations in the Balkans. Finally, we can be convinced that there are no friends in international politics. This unwritten rule applies especially to the Albanians who recently seem surprised by the American behavior towards Kosovo. “Business” in global politics continues with other means of diplomacy, relying on the past of the states and the actual interests.
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