United States and Serbia expand partnership

The United States and Serbia will open high-level diplomatic talks on Friday to build closer business and defense ties.

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric said the meetings will boost his country's economy and give Belgrade a stronger voice in Washington.

He plans to use that new access to ask for American support on sensitive ethnic disputes involving Kosovo and Bosnia.

In return, American negotiators want Serbia to reduce its ties to Russia and China while signing a final peace agreement with Kosovo.

To weaken Russian influence in the region, Washington is currently targeting Serbia's main oil company with financial penalties because Russian state firms own most of its shares.

To protect the refinery from those penalties, the Serbian government has arranged for a Hungarian company to manage the facility once the Russian owners sell their shares.