To the murals collection of Serbian war criminals in Belgrade, recently joined a photograph of Russian President Vladimir Putin, someone in Belgrade drew it in support of the terror he is waging against Ukraine. While protagonists of past murals like Ratko Mladic have been convicted of war crimes and Milosevic who died during the trial, by the International Criminal Court.
Enthusiasm and admiration for terror has been seen recently, when thousands of Serb citizens waved Russian flags and held Vladimir Putin pictures, marching through Belgrade streets under the sounds of Russian anthem and nationalist songs. They are organized to support their religious and political ally while wearing the “z” symbol that is also seen in Russian tanks during the bombing of Ukraine.
To whom it may concern, recent images from Belgrade shows that Serbian President, Aleksandar Vucic is not neutral as he as stated. Serbia is with Russia and Vucic could be the organizer of pro-Russian protests held in Belgrade. His connection with the organization of pro-Russian protests is evidenced by a photo that has circulated in the media where the organizer of the protests Damjan Knezevic (Narodna Patrola) and the son of the Serbian president can be seen Danilo Vucic, near the Serbian and Russian flags, and representatives of the far right as they were preparing for the protest.
The protest may have been orchestrated by “master of double card playing” Alexander Vucic, who was criticized in his country for the recent statement that he respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity and considers Russia’s military action against it “wrong”, but will not impose sanctions on Moscow.
On the other hand, Serbia voted in favor of the United Nations for the resolution condemning Russian aggression, in order to balance pro-Russian attitude dose with the West. But Vucic knows that this vote will cost him in the April 3 national elections, so he may have orchestrated the protests inside to quell the people’s anger over his ‘friendly’ attitude towards the West, in the event of a war in Ukraine. He has also taken care to create a comfort zone for Moscow by increasing the capacity of Air Serbia flights between Belgrade and Moscow, as the EU had imposed airspace bans.
Immediately after the pro-Russian protests in the Serbian capital, Vucic assured the citizens that no one will join the European Union before Serbia, this statement came after a phone conversation with the President of France Emmanuel Macron. While he continues double card game by threatening its neighboring country Kosovo for engagement towards membership in international organizations. His statement made on Monday that if Kosovo starts to be accepted with the accelerated procedures in the international organizations, Serbia will surprise me with its response, resembles Putin’s threats against Ukraine we have seen in the past.
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The potential candidate for EU membership is lying to Westerners by looking them in the eye. Vucic’s dual policies, which he has pursued for years, using EU funds and holding strong ties with Russia and China must end now. The caressing approach of the US and the EU to Vucic’s policy could in the future lead to the creation of another monster that would lead to repeat the history of the Western Balkans. Serbia has consistently refused to harmonize its foreign policy with that of the EU regarding sanctions, as expected throughout its EU integration process, since January 2014 when the accession negotiations for Serbia were opened.
Now that we are witnessing a drastic change in the course of political and security events, since February 24 when Russia invaded Ukraine. Now that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to re-draw Europe’s map by force, attention must be paid to the countries that support it. There is such a “hungry” politician in the Western Balkans that the West should concern about before it’s too late.
