Senator Bob Menendez, head of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations asked the high official of the State Department, Derek Chollet if he believes the New York Times article exposing the Serbian president’s ties to gang violence, is true.

“We believe it is. I cannot speak to the specifics of the article but there is absolutely a lot of corruption there,” answered Chollet on the matter.

Senator Menendez went further to ask if Serbia could make a reliable partner given the background and if such a case could endanger the region’s chances of European integration, with Chollet saying that “it is a test and we are keeping our eyes open”.

“We are holding Vučić and his colleagues to account, for their corruption, behavior, and activity. We have issued sanctions against many folks throughout the region. We have made it very clear that corruption is the single most important thing holding up the integration of the region to Europe. This is a high priority for us, it is something our embassies work very hard on and we pay very close attention to in Washington,” Chollet further provided.

In a lengthy article, the weekly magazine of the New York Times reveals the alleged connections of the Serbian president with the world of crime in his country.

Aleksandar Vučić denounced the article as being written in Serbia. However, in a response to these allegations, the New York Times said that the article is based in facts and contains the truth.