A bipartisan group of US lawmakers is pushing to hold a meeting of up to 57 nations about European security in South Carolina rather than Serbia next year. This move highlights a spat among congressional Republicans and Washington’s complex relations with the Balkan country.

Local Angle

Republican Representative Joe Wilson will introduce a joint congressional resolution with 40 co-sponsors that calls for the 2027 annual session of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to take place next summer in Charleston, in Wilson’s home state of South Carolina, rather than in Belgrade, Serbia’s capital.

The two cities are candidates to host the annual gathering of the European, Central Asian and North American member states of the OSCE, a grouping that has focused in recent years on managing the fallout of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Geopolitical Implications

Some lawmakers, dismayed by Belgrade’s deep economic links with Russia, have pushed for a more confrontational stance toward Serbia, which is a significant buyer of Russian energy and has declined to join Western sanctions against the US adversary.

Other lawmakers have emphasized the need for continued engagement with the Serbian government in order to bring the nation — which aspires to join the European Union — into full alignment with the West.

In an interview, Wilson, who is the co-chair of a Europe-focused quasi-congressional body known as the Helsinki Commission, emphasized that a US-hosted meeting would signal America’s commitment to its OSCE allies. He also criticized Serbia for its hostile stance toward Kosovo, a US ally that Belgrade considers an illegitimate breakaway region.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.