Statement of policy

It is the policy of the United States— (1) to support the aspirations of the citizens of Serbia for transparent, accountable, and democratic governance and impress upon the Government of Serbia that deepened United States engagement depends on credible, verifiable progress toward democratic accountability and rule of law; (2) to impose financial and visa sanctions on malign actors who contribute to the destabilizing situation in the Western Balkans, including in Serbia under Executive Order 14033 as well as those in the Western Balkans who support the Russian Federation’s malign actions around the world under Executive Order 14024; and (3) to impose sanctions described in section 8335 of the Western Balkans Democracy and Prosperity Act (22 U.S.C. 10704) for foreign persons who the President determines have— (A) undertaken actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, or territorial integrity of any area or state in the Western Balkans; (B) engaged or attempted to engage in actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in the Western Balkans; (C) engaged or attempted to engage in corruption related to the Western Balkans, including corruption by or on behalf of, a government in the Western Balkans, or a current or former government official in the Western Balkans; (D) engaged or attempting to engage in serious human rights abuses in the Western Balkans; or (E) engaged or attempted to engage in, acts that obstruct or threaten the implementation of any regional security, peace, cooperation, or mutual recognition agreement or framework or accountability mechanism related to the Western Balkans, including— (i) the Prespa Agreement of 2018; (ii) the Ohrid Framework Agreement of 2001; (iii) United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244; (iv) the Dayton Accords; (v) the Conclusions of the Peace Implementation Conference Council held in London in December 1995, including the decisions or conclusions of the High Representative, the Peace Implementation Council, or its Steering Board; and (vi) the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, or, with respect to the former Yugoslavia, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.