Moscow daily says Vucic turning West but not away from Russia

NEWS 18.04.202215:17
aleksandar vučić šake na licu ruke na licu
Nemanja Jovanović/AFP

Moscow daily Komersant said on Monday that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is taking steps towards the West but will not turn away from Russia despite the increased pressure to impose sanctions.

It said that Vucic is caught in the diplomatic crossfire between the West and Moscow, and recalled that the President of Serbia’s key European Union ally Germany Frank Walter Steinmeir told Vucic that the coordination of Belgrade’s foreign policy with the EU, especially towards Russia, is crucial.

“From the very start of the current crisis in Ukraine, the West believed that it’s not right for Serbia to be the only EU candidate country which has not imposed sanctions. Belgrade was granted a silent reprieve only to the April 3 elections. The West was not satisfied with the fact that Serbia lent support to three anti-Russian resolutions in the UN,” Komersant said.

It said that a new and very unpleasant issue for Vucic who is trying to sit on two chairs is the dissatisfaction expressed by Moscow. It quoted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zaharova who said that Moscow does not understand officials of states who want independent, balanced policies but are saying that they have to compromise because of unprecedented pressure.

“Vucic could show his friendly attitude towards Russia very soon even if he does not join in the Western sanctions by including more Russia-oriented politicians in the new government,” it said, adding that Ivica Dacic (considered to be a key pro-Russian politician) and his Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) are the main partners of Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).