Serbia leases army HQ bombed by NATO to Trump son-in-law

Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner has signed a lease for a building project at the site of the former Yugoslav army headquarters in Belgrade that was bombed in US-led NATO strikes in 1999.

The project has ruffled feathers in Serbia as the site is a painful symbol of the NATO bombing campaign that put an end to the war in Kosovo, with the breakaway province later declaring independence.

Construction Minister Goran Vesic insisted Wednesday the deal was not a sale but a 99-year lease.

Kushner's Affinity Partners company "will invest in the revitalization" of the former military complex, Vesic said in a statement.

A memorial will be built at the site, funded by investors but owned by Serbia, he added.

On his Instagram account, Kushner posted "early design images" of the project in March showing two luxurious glass towers where bombed-out buildings now stand.

The ravaged site in central Belgrade was declared a protected "cultural asset" by the Serbian government in 2005.

Kushner's plan is to establish a luxury hotel, 1,500 residential units and a memorial centre for victims of the bombing, the New York Times reported in March.

The property developer, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, made headlines in March by talking up the development potential of Gaza's "waterfront property" in a interview at Harvard University.

© Agence France-Presse