The president of Serbia on Monday dismissed any suggestion that he might have intentionally tried to direct a valuable real estate project in Serbia’s capital to Jared Kushner, Donald J. Trump’s son-in-law, in order to influence Mr. Trump if he returns to the White House.
“I died laughing,” the Serbian leader, Aleksandar Vucic, said at a rally, sarcastically referring to news reports that Mr. Kushner was close to finalizing a deal to invest $500 million in redeveloping a prominent site in central Belgrade, the capital. “I read in some papers that I utilized this for political influence on Trump, corrupting America or someone in America. I am a miracle. It is incredible what all I can do.”
Mr. Kushner, who previously served as a senior White House adviser under Mr. Trump, has partnered with a second former Trump aide, Richard Grenell, on the project.
The tentative agreement between the Kushner team and the Serbian government would give Mr. Kushner’s investment firm a 99-year lease, at no cost, and permission to construct a luxury hotel, apartment complex, and a museum on the site of the former headquarters of the Yugoslav Ministry of Defense in Belgrade, which was bombed by NATO in 1999.
News of the proposal sparked strong objections on Monday from opposition party leaders in Serbia during a parliamentary meeting.
Opposition party leaders stated that they were not adequately informed about the plan and found it inappropriate that an American company owned by a Trump family member would profit from a site that was bombed by a United States-led coalition 25 years ago.
“It demonstrates a lack of dignity, care for the country,” said Aleksandar Pavic, a parliament member from an opposition party not aligned with Mr. Vucic. “It is a shame and a slap in the face.”
Mr. Pavic mentioned that he and his party colleagues might not support the nomination of a new leader aligned with Mr. Vucic to be president of the Serbian parliament in protest of the redevelopment plan.
Mr. Vucic, at a separate event, mentioned that he was “partially familiar” with Mr. Kushner’s proposal. However, he stated that the details of the deal were being handled by the finance minister, Sinisa Mali.
“I know when he does something he does the work safely, cleverly, seriously and responsibly,” Mr. Vucic said of Mr. Mali, who Mr. Grenell has described as a personal friend.
“Always a good time with @mali_sinsia #belgrade,” Mr. Grenell wrote in 2021 on a social media account, alongside a photo with Mr. Mali at a bar in Belgrade.
The photo was shown on Monday by another parliament member, Aleksandar Jovanovic, who joked about the friendship between Mr. Grenell and Mr. Mali.
“I ask all M.P.s, who is in favor of the General Staff be donated to American offshore companies, please raise your hand,” Mr. Jovanovic said, mentioning the members of parliament and the General Staff Building, the name used in Serbia for the former military headquarters. None of the members of parliament were seen raising their hands.
Dragan Djilas, the leading opposition party leader in Serbia and former mayor of Belgrade, stated in an interview on Monday that “we will try to stop this,” in reference to the proposed project. “How can you give somebody land, totally free?” he questioned.
Mr. Kushner and Mr. Grenell, during interviews, mentioned that the project was a way for the United States to help heal the wounds left by the NATO bombing, and that profits from the redevelopment of the government-owned site would be shared with Serbia.
“The opportunity to have American investors redevelop the former military headquarters of the government of Yugoslavia symbolizes the tremendous progress that has been made to heal the wounds from the past,” Mr. Grenell stated. “This project will turn a symbol of previous conflict into a bridge of friendship and renewal.”
The project in Serbia is one of three that Mr. Kushner and Mr. Grenell are working on in the region, with two others planned in Albania. Company officials have indicated that their total investment in the region for luxury hotels and related developments would amount to about $1 billion.
