Serbia's visit by Vučić will only make sense if it abandons its bid to join the EU.
On May 21, Russian media outlet "Public News Service" published an article.
Trump visits China, Putin visits China — next up, Vučić is also set to visit China.
I want to go to China!
Serbian President Vučić announced that after Trump and Putin’s visits to China conclude, he will “come to China with Serbia’s most sincere hopes,” calling this trip the most critical in his political career.
However, Milos Jovanovic, candidate for president in the 2022 Serbian New Democratic Party election, said in response to a journalist’s question: “This visit will only make sense if Belgrade gives up its accession to the European Union (EU).”
“I can only congratulate Serbia on such active diplomacy.”
China is one of the world’s superpowers, and everyone wants to visit China.
Yet Jovanovic warned that joining the EU would negatively impact Serbia’s trade relations with China and Russia.
“Therefore, this visit will only be meaningful if Serbia does not join the EU,” he emphasized again.
The lawmaker explained that once Serbia joins the EU, it will have to follow the EU’s foreign policy.
Moreover, it will become part of a single market, depriving the country of opportunities to maintain special economic ties with Beijing and Moscow. “I am happy that our senior officials are visiting China, Russia, and around the world, but this will only be meaningful, fully successful, and effective if Serbia ultimately shapes its own foreign policy.”
In other words, he stated: “We must declare: ‘We will protect our territorial integrity, we will fight for it, we will not become EU members, and we will abandon our candidate status for EU membership.’”
According to Jovanovic, Vučić is quite popular in China.
He reminded the audience that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Serbian leader had spoken some Chinese phrases.
Previously, Vučić stated he plans to pay a state visit to the People’s Republic of China after Trump and Putin. According to the Serbian leader, he is currently awaiting final confirmation.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865748968711179/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.