Relations between Serbia and the United States were first established in 1882, when Serbia was a kingdom. From 1918 to 2006, the United States maintained relations with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (later Serbia and Montenegro), of which Serbia is considered the legal successor.
At the end of the 19th century, the United States sought to take advantage of the Ottoman Empire's retreat from the Balkans by establishing diplomatic relations with the region's newly emerged nation states, among which was Serbia. The two countries were allies during World War I. After the war, Serbia united with Montenegro and territories previously held by Austria-Hungary to create a unified South Slavic state that would come to be known as Yugoslavia. The country had diplomatic relations with the United States up to the start of World War II. During World War II in Yugoslavia, the United States supported the Serbian royalist Chetniks over their rivals, the communist Partisans. The Chetniks ultimately lost out to the Partisans and Yugoslavia became a single-party communist state with Partisan leader Josip Broz Tito at its head. In the immediate aftermath of the war, Yugoslavia and the United States had little diplomatic relations. The end of the war also resulted in the mass emigration of refugees from Yugoslavia, many of whom were Serbs that ended up moving to the United States. This helped create the first major Serbian diaspora in the United States. Some of the Serbian refugees who settled in the United States after World War II were anti-communist exiles who attempted to undermine Tito during the Cold War, using the United States as a venue for their anti-communist aims.
During the breakup of Yugoslavia, the United States engaged in both combative and economic conflict, particularly with Serbia, known at the time as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (one of socialist Yugoslavia's successor states). The United States imposed sanctions and spearheaded a NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999. During this period, another wave of Serbian emigration ensued, and many Serbian refugees moved to the United States. In the 2000s, diplomatic relations between the United States and Yugoslavia were restored, but were changed when Montenegro seceded in 2006, after which Serbia was the successor state to continue relations previously held by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Kosovo unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February 2008, a move which the US recognized.
History
Relations between the Kingdom of Serbia and the United States
Diplomatic relations between the then-Kingdom of Serbia and the United States were established in the 19th century. In 1879, the Serbian Consulate-General in New York was opened. On February 3, 1882, the Serbian Parliament adopted a contract and Convention of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Serbia and the United States, given by King Milan Obrenović. The United States Senate adopted both documents on July 5, 1882 without debate or amendments. On November 10, 1882, Eugene Schuyler became the first United States ambassador in Serbia.
In 1894 visit of a group of 40 US tourists to Belgrade during their European tour attracted significant public attention in Serbian capital. The guests were welcomed by the US consul and numerous citizens after which they visited major attractions and spent an evening in a garden with music.