We must see Trump - but it's going to cost us, says FM

Half a million dollars would open the White House doors and give Serbia an opportunity to fight for its interests in Kosovo in a meeting with the US president.

This is according to Serbian Foreign Minister and First Deputy PM Ivica Dacic.

"We'll think others are to blame tomorrow if somebody else were to reach (Donald) Trump before we do. It's known how it works in America. It's a lobbying system that is lawful, legal, there are contracts, they are public, they are published on the website of the ministry (US Justice Department), and we must engage in that," Dacic told Srpski Telegraf.

According to him, Serbia "cannot change the (US) State Department, the Congress... these are set mindsets when it comes to things that happened in the past."

"But we can try to work on establishing better connections with the administration, I'm referring to Trump, his team, Pence, Pompeo. We will work on it, I will insist on it.. It's between USD 50,000 and 150,000 a month. These are not huge sums that Serbia can't secure. But it's very important to whom the money is given," Dacic said.

Asked what Serbia would get in return, Dacic said that "a positive climate would be created, for them to hear out and take into account our opinion on the way to resolve the Kosovo issue."

"It's not a matter of paying someone to take our side. It's about someone being ready to talk. We have not had that so far - whenever the issue of Kosovo was mentioned, they did not want to talk about it. For the first time with the Trump administration, we managed to state our opinion," said Dacic.

Earlier this month, media reports said that Kosovo President Hashim Thaci had hired a Washington lobbyist in an attempt to secure a meeting with Trump, and that he had spent half a million dollars for this purpose.