It is not enough to make generalised statements against war crimes committed in the history of humankind, Polt said in an interview with the Danas daily newspaper on Friday.
The US ambassador stressed that Serbia must first acknowledge what happened and then condemn the atrocity fully, energetically, unhypocritically and unequivocally.
Those responsible must be brought to justice. That is a categorical definition of the values we all want, not as Serbs, Americans, the French or Hindus, but as human beings in relation to what happened to other people, Polt said.
There can be no equivocal statements or downplaying something that happened in one period of time with something that happened to a specific group of people in another period, he added.
This is about human beings, a specific date, a specific incident that must be mentioned. Srebrenica is July 11, and not crimes against humanity committed during the history of humankind. That is what is necessary, the US ambassador stressed.
Polt expressed satisfaction with a statement issued by the Council of Ministers of the Union of Serbia and Montenegro, in which it condemned the Srebrenica atrocity and decided to send a high-level state delegation to a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the massacre.
Earlier this week, after days of consultations among parliamentary parties, the Serbian Assembly failed to agree on the text of a declaration condemning the Srebrenica massacre because most parties did not agree that Srebrenica should be specifically mentioned. That is why the declaration will not be included on the Assembly's agenda.