American Lawmakers Propose Moving OSCE Meeting from Serbia to South Carolina

A bipartisan group of American lawmakers is calling on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to hold its upcoming session on European security in the state of South Carolina, not in Serbia.

The initiative highlights divisions within Republican ranks in Congress, as well as the complicated trajectory of relations between Washington and Belgrade.

The joint resolution, to be introduced on Friday by Republican Congressman Joe Wilson and bearing the signatures of 41 lawmakers, aims to move the 2027 annual OSCE meeting to Charleston, South Carolina — the state Wilson represents — rather than the Serbian capital, Belgrade, which has found support among other influential Republicans.

Reuters reported that it had access to a copy of the document before its official release.

Both Charleston and Belgrade are vying to host this annual summit of OSCE participating states from Europe, Central Asia, and North America. In recent years, the organization has focused its energy on mitigating the consequences of Russian aggression in Ukraine.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has given the green light to the Serbian parliament’s bid to host in 2027, an event that will bring together more than 300 lawmakers from 57 member countries.

Although American representatives in both camps put forward logistical and practical arguments for the city they favor — some with little geopolitical charge — the clash also reflects a broader debate in Washington over Serbia, a country that maintains strong ties with both Moscow and the Trump administration.

Some lawmakers, alarmed by Belgrade’s deep economic dependence on Russia, have advocated a tougher stance toward Serbia, which continues to import large quantities of Russian energy and has refused to comply with Western sanctions against the United States’ main adversary.

Others, on the contrary, underscore the importance of sustained engagement with the Serbian government so that the country — which aspires to European Union membership — fully aligns with the West.

In an interview, Wilson, co-chair of the Helsinki Commission, a quasi-congressional entity focused on European affairs, stressed that moving the meeting to American soil would send a clear message of commitment to allies within the OSCE.

He also criticized Serbia for maintaining a hostile line toward Kosovo, a U.S. ally whose independence Belgrade continues to reject.