US refuses visa for Serbia’s army chief of staff

Serbia’s defense minister says the US’s rejection of a visa application from his army’s chief of staff will have consequences for military relations between the two countries.

Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin says that it was unclear why the US Embassy in Belgrade rejected the visa for Gen. Ljubisa Dikovic, who in October was invited to a conference in Washington on the fight against terror groups.

Vulin says the refusal to issue Dikovic a visa “does not contribute to our cooperation and leaves a bad trail.”

The US Embassy has refused to comment on the general’s application.

Serbian human rights group have accused Dikovic of war crimes committed by his troops during the 1998-99 war against ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. He has never been tried for the alleged crimes.

— AP