Despite him having understandably utilised the world stage to criticise the West over its double standards and for “opening Pandora’s box” in Kosovo, where there’s no justice for Serbs, as Vučić stresses, it’s more important for Western countries that Serbia’s president once again supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine and isn’t abandoning the dialogue with Pristina
In his speech during a recent UN General Assembly session in New York, President Vučić quoted U.S. presidents Kennedy and Obama, but also Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi. So, he covered the “Collective West”, and BRICS, and the “Global South”. He admittedly didn’t cite any famous Russians, though he did award the Order of the Serbian Flag, 1st class, to Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, with the Russian diplomat having been decisive in opposing the adoption of the UN Resolution on Srebrenica.
Despite him having understandably utilised the world stage to criticise the West over its double standards and for “opening Pandora’s box” in Kosovo (long before Ukraine), where there’s no justice for Serbs, as Vučić stresses, it’s more important for Western countries that Serbia’s president once again supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine and isn’t abandoning the dialogue with Pristina.
Everything, both globally and regionally, will still depend on the practical effect of the postmodern theory of the phenomenon of the acceleration of history, which Vučić mentioned in New York.
With the exception of Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, few noticed that Macron gave the same editorial to both Politika and Danas newspapers ahead of his visit to Belgrade, which Zakharova found indicative. Macron reminded readers that both a conservative and a liberal public exist in Serbia and should reach a consensus on the country’s strategic directions. Zakharova also supports Vučić’s calls for local elections to be scheduled in the north of Kosovo, Serb judges and prosecutors to be returned to judicial positions, Kosovo Police special units to be withdrawn from the north and for the Community of Serb Municipalities to be formed urgently. Such calls don’t annoy the West, as they remain within the framework of the Brussels Agreements, or the Franco-German plan.
If the Progressives have been in power for 12 years, that means Vučević underscored his government’s continuity with the policies of previous democratic governments, and not with the Milošević regime
Does this mean that Russia will continue referring to the Kosovo precedent for the sake of its own interests? No matter how pro-Western Vučić reservedly is, he remains Russia’s strongest and most reliable partner in Serbia. With the purchase of French Rafale jets, Serbia has also entered the “Rafale club”, as Macron calls it, which also includes Greece and Croatia. Okay, it will be tough for Macron to turn that into some new “Little Entente” – the alliance formed, with French backing, between King Alexander’s Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and Romania – though for Vučić’s Serbia it could be a variation of the “Balkan Pact” – the short-lived alliance formed, with U.S. backing, between Greece, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia, which indirectly brought a communist country into NATO structures, through the back door.
It is important that Serbian Prime Minister Miloš Vučević was fairly convincing at September’s Bled Strategic Forum in stating that Serbia doesn’t have a Plan B when it comes to EU accession and that this has been Serbia’s main political objective for 20 years already.
If the Progressives have been in power for 12 years, that means Vučević underscored his government’s continuity with the policies of previous democratic governments, and not with the Milošević regime.
How to finally conclude? We should think about that on the occasion of yet another anniversary of the 5th October 2000 overthrow of Milošević’s government.