Fmr US Ambassador: Western strategy of ‘fixing’ Serbia has failed

In a statement posted on X, Murphy said there had long been an “infatuation” in both the US and EU with the idea that if Serbia were “fixed”, the Western Balkans would be fixed as well.

“Intellectually, this makes sense,” Murphy said, pointing to Serbia’s position as the region’s most populous country and largest economy. He added that Serbia abandoning the policies and politics that underpinned the break-up of Yugoslavia, combined with a decisive turn towards the West, would represent a positive change for the region.

However, Murphy argued that since the fall of Milosevic, US and EU efforts to “win” Serbia have too often ignored, or looked the other way, as the country engaged in actions detrimental to regional stability, particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, but also in Montenegro.

“Far too much faith has been placed in the EU carrot’s transformative power, which quite clearly has not worked,” Murphy said.

He argued that the US and EU have repeatedly convinced themselves that a particular Serbian leader would be different, only to be disappointed.

“Despite US and EU investment in Serbia, the country remains wedded to its old politics and world view, including many of its dangerous Milosevic era beliefs and its pro-Russian posture,” Murphy said.

According to the former ambassador, the West has found it easier to persist in the belief that Serbia has changed than to accept the need for a policy that treats Serbia as a challenge to Western interests.

“The Western strategy of fixing Serbia, and by extension fixing all of the Western Balkans, has failed. It is time for a new and different approach,” Murphy said.