A glitzy hotel development project led by Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, is moving toward reality in the Serbian capital. But protesters are calling for a war-scarred building at the site to remain as a de facto memorial to NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia.
Trump Tower Belgrade: The NATO-Bombed Landmark At Center Of Development Dispute
The General Staff Building in central Belgrade photographed soon after its completion in 1965.
The building was made to house the headquarters of the Yugoslav military and designed to mimic the canyons surrounding the Sutjeska River in today's Bosnia and Herzegovina, where a key World War II battle took place.
Anti-aircraft tracer fire is seen over Belgrade on the night the General Staff Building was hit by two separate NATO missile strikes late on April 29, 1999.
The attacks came during the military bloc's bombing campaign of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War.
The General Staff Building seen immediately after the April 1999 NATO strikes.
The building was unoccupied at the time, but two people were reportedly killed on the streets outside. The building was targeted again nine days later in a separate strike.
Rubble on the street beneath the General Staff Building in central Belgrade after a second strike on the building on the night of May 7, 1999.
Then-US President Bill Clinton framed the bombing of Yugoslavia as a way to "to deter an even bloodier offensive against innocent [ethnic Albanian] civilians in Kosovo" by ethnic Serbian forces.
The view from the office of Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic, which was damaged during the April 1999 strikes on the General Staff Building.
In 2005, the damaged building was given protected status as a cultural heritage site but left largely in ruins.
The war-scarred former military headquarters photographed in 2014.
The derelict headquarters became a de facto memorial to hundreds of civilians and fighters killed in the Western-led air campaign.
An aerial photo showing the location of the General Staff Building (center right) ruins in central Belgrade.
Alexander Vucic, who was prime minister at the time, speaks at a memorial event marking the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia, in front of the bombed General Staff Building in April 2015.
During the event Vucic, who is currently Serbia's president, told the crowd, "A successful, well-organized and decent country is our victory. Every building we erect, every road we build, every factory we build is our victory."
A rendering of the planned Trump Tower Belgrade.
In 2024 Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, announced plans through his company, Affinity Partners, to develop a major complex on the site of the ruined General Staff Building.
The project will include a luxury hotel and residences, as well as a museum and memorial to those killed in the NATO bombings.
Crowds on November 11 form a "living wall" around the General Staff Building in protest against the planned high-rise project.
Serbia's parliament recently approved a special law that will allow for the development to go ahead despite the building's former heritage listing.
An anti-NATO and EU flag seen during the November 11 demonstration.
Protesters are demanding the ruins remain untouched, while Vucic, who is now Serbia's president, has said the $500 million development will contribute to Belgrade becoming "the center of this part of the world."