Stefanovic: Djuric Becomes Serbia's UN Ambassador

Borko Stefanovic, deputy leader of the Freedom and Justice Party (SSP), published a statement today claiming that a five position reshuffle has begun at the top of Serbian diplomacy ahead of announced elections. Nova.rs ran the story at 12:39 p.m., N1 followed at 12:51 p.m., both citing Stefanovic’s post on X.

According to Stefanovic, Foreign Minister Marko Djuric is leaving to become Serbia’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York, and preparations for the move, he says, are already under way. No such claims about the top of the Foreign Ministry (MSP) had surfaced before.

“In the shadow of more important events and the regime’s dismantling of our country, the top ranks of the ruling Progressives’ diplomatic corps have begun migrating abroad for postings,” Stefanovic wrote in the statement. “The exodus has begun, and so has the scramble for backup, well paid positions.”

Who, according to Stefanovic, is changing posts

The SSP deputy leader named five people and positions:

• Minister Marko Djuric, ambassador to the UN in New York
• Djuric’s chief of staff, ambassador to Portugal
• Foreign Ministry Secretary General Dusan Kozarev, known by the nickname Devito, consul general in Miami
• General Dragan Vladisavljevic, currently ambassador to Azerbaijan and former head of Military Intelligence, ambassador to Moscow
• the Foreign Ministry’s security service chief, consul general in Herceg Novi

“Foreign Minister Marko Djuric is leaving to become Serbia’s ambassador to the United Nations in New York,” Stefanovic wrote, adding that General Vladisavljevic is moving to Moscow directly from Baku, “to strengthen overall security cooperation with the Russians in defending the regime.”

On the Foreign Ministry’s security service chief, whom he described as Djuric’s “failed man for the region,” Stefanovic said he hopes the official has “finally secured the university degree he never had,” while claiming the man had unlawfully held senior positions at the ministry in the past. He closed the message with: “Don’t unpack, gentlemen, you’ll be home soon.”

Djuric: personnel decisions are confidential

Minister Djuric declined to comment on the individual appointment claims, but responded to Stefanovic on the same platform.

“As for your speculation about specific appointments, I won’t comment on that. That’s a matter for the prosecution and the courts, since personnel decisions in diplomacy are strictly confidential, so let the relevant authorities ask you where you get all sorts of ideas,” Djuric wrote.

He also pushed back on the exodus claim itself, calling it “the idle daydreams of a has been,” and suggested Stefanovic worry about his own party instead.

“Go ahead and keep hoping for that exodus. As for packing suitcases, here’s my advice to you: pack up your things from the Assembly, since in a few weeks you’ll be an extra-parliamentary party. And realistically, there’s no help for that. As for me, I’ll keep opposing you, always and everywhere,” the minister added.

As of publication, the Foreign Ministry as an institution had not issued a separate statement on the claims of five specific transfers.

Stefanovic, a former diplomat himself

Stefanovic began his own diplomatic career as first secretary at Serbia’s embassy in Washington, from 2003 to 2007, before turning to party politics. He described the announced transfers as “just part of the overall process of the regime’s dismantling” of Serbian diplomacy.

For now, none of the five appointments named by Stefanovic has been officially confirmed, either by the Foreign Ministry as an institution or by any of the people named. Djuric responded only to the general claim of an “exodus,” not to the specific names and positions Stefanovic put forward. Whether, and when, the government or the Foreign Ministry will officially confirm any of these five appointments remains an open question.