Russia has described the blockade of the airspace of the three Balkan countries of Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro for the planned flight of its Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to friendly Serbia as “hostile action”. Lavrov himself spoke of an unprecedented action. Now the Serbian interlocutors would come to Moscow. The foreign minister stressed: “No one can destroy the Russian-Serb connection.”
“If a visit by the Russian foreign minister to Serbia is seen in the West as approaching a threat on a universal level, then things are clearly going pretty badly in the West,” Lavrov sneered. Serbian Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin said he deeply regretted the impediment to the visit of Lavrov, whom he called a “great and trusted friend of Serbia”.
‘Serbia is not part of anti-Russian hysteria’
“A world where diplomats cannot seek peace is a world where there is no peace. Those who prevented the arrival of Sergey Lavrov do not want peace, they dream of defeating Russia,” Vulin said. “Serbia is proud that it is not part of the anti-Russian hysteria, and the countries that are should be ashamed of themselves.” President Aleksandar Vucic initially made no comment.
Serbia has condemned the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, but at the same time Belgrade does not want to break with Moscow and refuses to join the EU sanctions against Russia. This arouses resentment in Brussels. The EU expects that Serbia “will not further strengthen its relations with Russia,” an EU spokesperson said recently. “Candidate countries, including Serbia, are expected to gradually align their policies towards third countries with European Union policies and positions, including restrictive measures,” the spokesperson continued.
40 percent of Serbs for alliance with Russia
EU accession is still a stated objective of the Serbian government. But other sounds can also be heard in Belgrade. Pro-government media are spreading the Kremlin’s messages and there have even been calls for the country to withdraw its application for EU membership. In a recent poll, 40 percent of Serbs said they would be “happy” if their country renounced EU membership and instead forged an alliance with Russia.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
