US Senator Urges Serbia To Deny Russian Center Diplomatic Immunity

A US senator visiting Belgrade has urged Serbia not to grant diplomatic status to the staff of a Russian disaster-relief center that some Western officials suspect harbors spies and disseminates propaganda.

"I am hoping that President [Aleksandar] Vucic and Serbia resist any attempt to offer immunity to the staff of the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center," Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican who chairs the US Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, said on August 29.

"I think that'd send a very bad signal. It would surely not be in the best interest of the people of Serbia in terms of the Western flow of capital to help build your economy," he said.

For Serbia to benefit from an economic infusion from the West, Johnson said, "you need as little corruption as possible and you also need an indication that a country is really leaning toward...