Ivica Dacic, Serbia’s Foreign Minister, told Russian Sputnik news agency he did not destroy the 100 dollars banknote by writing “Kosovo is Serbia” on it, nor did he insult Benjamin Franklin, an American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the US, but followed Franklin’s essential idea, who also had a wise message that "he who has patience can have what he wants", the Belgrade based FoNet news agency reported.

The US embassy condemned Dacic’s “Internet challenge” with the message written in Cyrillic over the dollar banknote.

“Instead of destroying the banknote with the image of a great American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin, Minister Dacic would better think about his (Franklin’s) statement: “Be at war with your vices and peace with your neighbours,” the embassy said in a statement.

Commented on the statement, Dacic said Serbia would always fight against “an evildoing and fake state” and would always strive for peace with its neighbours.

“What Serbia will never do is to treat itself as a neighbouring country, what neither America will do. And as Benjamin Franklin wouldn’t do. What I did was in respect of the universal principle of all recognised states, including the US and Serbia,” Dacic said.