Serbia's leader: Kushner's deal is not trying to influence Trump.

After the news was published that Jared Kushner plans to reconstruct the site in Belgrade that was destroyed by NATO in 1999, Serbian politicians have engaged in a debate over whether this deal is appropriate. The agreement involves granting Jared Kushner's investment firm a 99-year lease for free, as well as the right to build a luxury hotel, apartments, and a museum.

On Monday, the President of Serbia rejected any hints that he might have intentionally tried to redirect a valuable real estate project in the Serbian capital to Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of Donald J. Trump, in an attempt to influence Mr. Trump if he returns to the White House. "I died laughing," said Serbian leader Aleksandar Vučić at a rally, mocking reports that Mr. Kushner was close to a deal to invest $500 million in the development of a high-profile site in downtown Belgrade, the capital. "I read in some newspapers that I used this for political influence on Trump, which ruined America or someone in America.

The planned agreement between Kushner's team and the Serbian government involves granting Mr. Kushner's investment firm a 99-year lease for free, as well as the right to build a luxury hotel and apartments on the site of the former headquarters of the Yugoslav Ministry of Defense in Belgrade, which was destroyed by NATO in 1999. The news of the proposal sparked strong opposition on Monday from leaders of opposition parties in Serbia during a parliamentary session. Opposition party leaders stated that they had not been properly informed about the plan and deemed it unacceptable for an American company owned by a member of the Trump family to profit from a site that was destroyed 25 years ago by a coalition led by the U.S.