The Serbian center for geostrategic studies, in cooperation with the Coordination Council of non-commercial organizations of Russia, organized in Moscow 28. November Round Table called:"The Balkans at the crossroads, with whom Serbia will be in a multipolar world“. The gathered guests were addressed by Dragana Trifkovic, general director of the Center for geostrategic studies with the topic "Serbian-Russian relations in the context of a special military operation", Vladimir Zotov, columnist for the publication Ukraine.Ru with the theme "Russia and Serbia: between declarations of love and concrete deeds" and Tatjana Stojanovic, editor of the publication Ukraine.Ru. with the theme "Kosovo and Metohija from the Kumanovo Agreement to the Ohrid plan: exit from the sphere of international law".
The presentation of Dragana Trifkovic, general director of the Center for geostrategic studies, is presented in full.
Russia's special military operation launched in February 2022. received huge support from the Serbian public, but at the same time it began to expose the dual policy of the regime in Serbia, which in words presents itself as pro-Russian, and in practice integrates Serbia into Euro-Atlantic structures.
After the start, 2. March 2022. at the session of the UN General Assembly, Serbia voted in favor of a resolution condemning "Russia's invasion of Ukraine" as well as a second resolution demanding that Russia cease its threat and use of force against Ukraine and to withdraw its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.
Two days later 4. March 2022. tens of thousands of Serbian citizens took to the streets of Belgrade in support of Russia and because of deep disagreement with Serbia's vote in the UN for the Ukrainian resolution. It was the first mass rally of support for Russia since the start of the SVO in Europe.
It should be noted that according to polls conducted by Western power centers, about 85% of Serbian citizens consider Russia a friendly state and blame NATO for the war in Ukraine (Institute for European affairs 2021, Friedrich Nauman Foundation 2023. and Dr.).
At the beginning of the anniversary of the bombing of Serbia by NATO 24. March 2022. again, tens of thousands of citizens took to the streets of Belgrade with Russian flags and portraits of the Russian President.
In April 2022., Serbia voted to exclude Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, which is a complete paradox If we take into account the fact that Russia protects Serbian interests in the field of human rights (it prevented the adoption of the resolution on the so-called genocide in Srebrenica, regularly reacts to the violation of human rights of vulnerable Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, etc.).
In October 2022. Serbia voted in favor of a resolution condemning Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions. In February 2023. Serbia voted again in the United Nations General Assembly to adopt a resolution demanding the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine and calling for a" just and lasting " peace and so on.…
Therefore, it is obvious that the Serbian delegation to the UN received a directive to vote for anti-Russian resolutions and that such a decision is incompatible with the views of the vast majority of Serbian citizens. While Serbia is politically aligned with the West in the UN, Serbian citizens are at the same time expressing massive support for Russia on the streets of Belgrade.
As a pretext to vote against Russia, and to constantly emphasize the position that Serbia supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine (including Crimea), the regime in Serbia notes that it is doing so because of Western pressure, as well as the preservation of Serbia's territorial integrity in relation to the Kosovo problem.
When it comes to Western pressures, they are directly related to the regime, not the state of Serbia as it is often emphasized. Namely, the West has evidence of the regime's involvement in criminal and corrupt acts and thus blackmails it, while the attitude towards the state of Serbia is certainly hostile in all segments, but this is a policy that has lasted for decades. As for the thesis that Serbia, by supporting the territorial integrity of Ukraine, preserves its own, in practice this is completely different. Namely, while the state of Serbia protects Ukrainian territorial integrity, at the same time, by signing a series of anti-constitutional agreements concerning the southern Serbian province, it has effectively lost jurisdiction in this territory.
Also, Aleksandar Vucic often notes that Serbia has not imposed sanctions on Russia and uses this as an excuse to justify anti-Russian moves. Serbia has not officially imposed sanctions on Russia, but Serbian-Russian cooperation has been suspended in many segments (such as military cooperation, for example, trade cooperation, scientific cooperation, etc.). The fact is that imposing sanctions on Russia would only harm the Serbian side, as Serbia continues to receive cheap Russian gas, which sustains the Serbian economy. Given that the Serbian economy is mainly in the hands of foreign companies, it follows that foreign investors in Serbia benefit from this.
Photo: Aleksandar Vučić in the company of Zelensky, Rama and Osmani
From the beginning of SVO Aleksandar Vucic did not meet with President Putin and this is constantly emphasized in the public. During this time, he met six times with Vladimir Zelensky, at the European political Society Summit in Moldova (June 2023).), at a meeting of the same format in Spain (October 2023) and London (July 2024), at the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Tirana (February 2024), Athens (August 2023) and Dubrovnik (October 2024). Each time, Vucic stated that he had a constructive conversation with Vladimir Zelensky and that Serbia supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine. In addition, at meetings within the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit, Vucic has signed declarations condemning Russia three times. Paradoxically, He put his signature on the document together with Vljosa Osmani, who presents herself as the president of independent Kosovo, and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. The text of the Declaration of the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit signed by Vucic writes:
"We condemn by nothing the unjustified and unlawful aggression of Russia against Ukraine, in the strongest possible way. "Russia's aggression is a crime against the Ukrainian people.“
"Our support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders remains absolute."
"We underline our unwavering commitment to restoring Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, including Crimea, by further providing Ukraine with comprehensive assistance to counter Russian aggression."
"We reiterate our firm commitment to bringing to justice those individuals responsible for the crimes of aggression, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed during Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine."
and so on…
After such anti-Russian moves, the public in Serbia was appeased by media manipulation, where it was stated that Vucic had removed from the text of the Declaration an article concerning sanctions against Russia (obligations for Serbia to introduce them), but Western sources claim that this was not considered.
In May 2024. Jelena Zelenska, the wife of the expired President Zelensky, and Dmitry Kuleb, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, arrived on an official visit to Belgrade when agreements on cultural, scientific and educational cooperation between Belgrade and Kiev were signed.
In September 2024. Aleksandar Vucic wife Tamara Vucic, visited Kiev at the so-called First Ladies Summit, which she visited in 2023. years. During last year's stay in Kiev, Tamara Vucic, together with schismatics from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, visited the abducted Kiev-Pechersk Lavra and prayed there.
A few days ago (20. novebra), Tamara Vucic and Jelena Zelenska were together on a visit to the Roman Pope Francis in the Vatican. On that occasion, Tamara Vučić thanked the pope for "the rapprochement and reconciliation of orthodoxy and Catholicism". It is known that Pope Francis and the main creator of the schism in Orthodoxy, Patriarch Bartholomew, are planning for 2025. in the years of Easter, they organize the false unification of Catholics and Orthodox.
Photo: Tamara Vučić in the company of fake priests in the kidnapped Kiev-Pechersk Lavra
All this speaks in favor of the fact that from the beginning everything started to move away from Russia and closer to Ukraine, as well as Euro-Atlantic structures. Recently, the US ambassador to Belgrade, Christopher Hill, said"From our point of view, Serbia has clearly opted for the West and continued support for Ukraine." And that's a perfectly accurate claim. However, the fact is that most of the Serbian people have not sided with the West and that over 85% of the citizens of Serbia remain committed to Russia.
However, the question is how to bridge the gap between state leadership and citizens in this regard?
What certainly leaves the biggest consequences is the sending of Serbian weapons to Ukraine, which the Serbian regime sends through third parties in agreement with the Americans. Aleksandar Vucic has long denied this fact, which was also published by the Pentagon, but was apparently forced to admit it in an interview he gave to the London Financial Times (June 2024).). Finally, French President Macron publicly thanked Vucic for supplying Ukraine with ammunition when he was visiting Belgrade (August 2024).).
What is paradoxical is that the First Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia, Aleksandar Vulin, despite all the above facts, claims in Moscow that such allegations come from those who want to quarrel with the Serbian and Russian people. Whether he meant Vučić by this or simply did not prepare the speech well remains unclear. In any case, Aleksandar Vulin says everything the opposite of what Aleksandar Vucic is implementing in practice.
The discontent and anger of the citizens in Serbia is increasing, but citizens ' protests are characterized each time as a new Maidan (which corresponds to the regime in Serbia and the Controlled Opposition and the West). For example, when citizens protested against the agreement on the mining of lithium due to the too high risk of pollution and devastation of Serbia, signed with the Western company Rio Tinto, the regime claimed that it was being protested by Western mercenaries. How is it possible for Western mercenaries to protest against Western company?! The same was the case when citizens protested against the escalation of violence and accidents that resulted in the loss of human lives. The Maidan claims are a great trick to preserve the regime that leads Serbia to the West. Finally, we often talk about the color revolution that was carried out on the 5th. October 2000. in Belgrade, but there is no talk about the political consequences it left and which led to the fact that today the citizens of Serbia have no access or control over the institutions of Serbia.
Officially, Serbia is increasingly moving away from Russia, especially after Aleksandar Vucic's refusal to come to the BRICS Summit in Kazan, while independent alternative routes also operate largely within the framework set by the West. The UK, through Aleksandar Vucic, imposed blacklists containing pro-Russian-oriented independent intellectuals, who were banned from being invited to events organized by the Russian Embassy or the Russian home in Belgrade, practically forbidding them from having any contact with Russian institutions in Belgrade. Also, Russian media in Serbia had to fit within the media image created by the West and align their editorial policy according to the rules dictated by the US, the UK and France.
Dealing with Serbian-Russian relations in Serbia is provided exclusively to strictly controlled persons (Russophiles in civilian) who are trained on the following two platforms: love and pathetic.
The first refers to expressing a huge amount of Brotherly Love, Support in words and pandering in all possible ways, while the second refers to lamenting the fact that Serbia is threatened, surrounded by NATO countries and in great danger. Declarations of love where there are no deeds and where only empty words Stand have no weight, while the pathetic is extremely humiliating for the Serbian people who have a heroic history and who fought in much worse circumstances against the occupation.
The majority pro-Russian public is extremely concerned about the current situation, and there is the great disappointment that society has brought to apathy. Especially the lack of reactions from Russia, along with the huge anti-Russian propaganda carried out in Serbia, creates the impression that Russia is at least not interested in the fate of Serbia. All this speaks in support of the urgent need to take certain steps and that it is necessary to devise a new approach in strengthening Serbian-Russian relations.
Source: Center for Geostrategic Studies
2. December 2024.
