Donald Trump’s campaign apologized for the U.S.-led bombings of Serbia in the 1990s to stop ethnic cleansing by Serb militias against predominately Muslim groups during Bill Clinton’s presidency, according to the Serbian weekly publication Nedeljnik.
"The bombing of the Serbs, who were our allies in both world wars, it was a big mistake," Trump told Nedeljnik. "The Serbs are very good people. Unfortunately, the Clinton administration caused them a lot of harm, but also throughout the Balkans, where they made a mess."
Trump said he would have "a new policy with the Balkans" should he win the White House in November, Newsweek reported. The interview was conducted via email correspondence with senior Trump campaign adviser Suzanne Ryder Jaworowski.
NATO carried out the Balkans bombings in 1995 and 1999 in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, respectively, to put an end to genocide and rape that was being carried out by Serbs against Bosnian Muslims and successively Albanian Kosovars. Slobodan Milosevic, the former president of Yugoslavia, was successively charged with war crimes in The Hague, Netherlands, along with several other political and military leaders.
The interventions ultimately led to the collapse of Yugoslavia and are widely deemed a success by many foreign policy experts.
Trump’s comments align him with Russian officials who at the time opposed the interventions in the U.N. Security Council.
"The most obvious interpretation of his statement is that it is another sign of alignment with Russia," Eric Gordy, professor in Southeast European Politics at University College London told Newsweek. "This kind of statement is usually more a symbolic attempt for Russian politicians to drum up resentment towards the U.S."
The Trump campaign denied apologizing for the air campaigns and said the interview never took place.
"This was a hoax and we look forward to receiving a formal retraction and apology from all involved," Trump senior communications adviser Jason Miller said in a statement.