The withdrawal comes as authorities face indictments of Culture Minister Nikola Selaković and three others for abuse of office and document forgery tied to the project, highlighting legal pressures surrounding the site.

Reactions abroad and at home center on transparency, heritage protection, and fears the project could erase an iconic landmark.

The plan sought to replace damaged façades with a Trump-branded complex, fueling debates over modernization, foreign investment, and national sentiment toward the United States.

Belgrade’s high-profile hotel project on the bombed General Staff building is collapsing as Affinity Partners withdraws, with Vučić calling it a ‘witch hunt’ amid broad public opposition.

Parliament had previously moved to strip the General Staff building of cultural status to enable the luxury development, sparking controversy among critics who warned this could erase a cultural monument.

Legal proceedings and potential negotiations for alternative investors continue around the site’s status and future redevelopment.

Analysts note the site’s semi-ruined, symbolic status makes redevelopment politically charged and sensitive for any new investor.

Europa Nostra highlighted the site as one of Europe’s heritage assets at greatest risk of ruin in 2025, underscoring preservation concerns.

The framing of the story includes Ja’han Jones as the blogger providing context.

U.S. observers and Democrats have long questioned Kushner’s foreign deals and potential conflicts as he engages in diplomacy on behalf of the Trump orbit.

Opponents argued the deal was illegal and that the site’s architectural and memorial value should be preserved, fearing land transfers to the Trump family at low cost.

Affinity Partners had a 99-year lease signed in 2024 to redevelop the site, a New York Times-described half-billion-dollar project involving the controversial demolition of a modernist landmark.