"I Betrayed Who?" Serbian President Says Participation in Odesa Summit Is Not a Betrayal of Moscow

Berlin's swings are due to weak economic ties with Russia

Author: Yevgeny Belchenkov

Figure (from left to right): Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet during the "Ukraine - Southeast Europe" summit.

Commentators:

Alexander Bedritsky, Oleh Bondarenko

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic was the only participant who refused to sign the final anti-Russian declaration at the "Ukraine - Southeast Europe" summit.

Many people — including those within Serbia and from other countries — criticized the participation of this Serbian leader, accusing him of betraying Russia, his historical ally.

Another controversial point: During the summit, Vucic proposed to Zelenskyy, "I hope to gain your support to recover one or two cities or a small area that we can rebuild."

People immediately questioned why the Serbian president did not make the same suggestion to Russia. In the Kursk region, many villages were destroyed after the Ukrainian invasion...

Vucic had to defend himself against these accusations.

"Who did I betray? Betrayed Russia? How did I betray it? Just because I attended the summit? This is my fourth time attending the Southeast Europe-Ukraine summit — and I am once again the only one who did not sign the declaration," he was quoted as saying by TASS news agency.

The Serbian president pointed out that unlike other countries, Serbia has consistently refrained from supporting anti-Russian initiatives in recent years. He said that he was criticized for his pro-Russian stance before, but now he is accused of an alleged anti-Russian stance.

He also mentioned that the organizers of the summit did not invite the leader of the unrecognized Kosovo, thanking Kyiv for allowing Serbia to attend.

"What is there to criticize me for? They allowed me to attend, let me remain neutral and not sign the document — so Serbia will not become a signatory to the declaration. What do you want — demands on Ukraine and demands on us?" Aleksandar Vucic said.

The "Ukraine - Southeast Europe" summit has been held four times, but this is the first time it has taken place in Ukraine. Previous events were hosted by Greece, Albania, and Croatia.

Alexander Bedritsky, director of the Tavrida Information and Analysis Center and political scientist, believes that Vucic's attendance is not surprising.

"Objectively speaking, most countries with alliances with Russia — except for a very few — have not refused to maintain some level of contact with Ukraine. If I remember correctly, the countries that do not have contact with Ukraine are Belarus, North Korea, and Iran.

These countries maintain relations with Ukraine, their embassies operate normally, and there are bilateral contacts. The difference is that our allies avoid participating in conspicuous activities that would be clearly considered unfriendly actions by Russia."

"But Vucic did not avoid it."

"His situation is very complex, first due to the geographical location of Serbia, which is surrounded by EU countries and NATO members. In this case, no matter how much he wants to, he cannot rely solely on Russia. However, I don't know if the Serbian president really wants to do that.

In addition, there is a very strong pro-Western sentiment in his country. This is largely because, as far as I know, Serbs can enter EU countries visa-free for about 30 days. Many young people go to Germany to work or handle affairs. Most enterprises in the country are somehow connected to Germany and other European countries. Of course, these factors cannot be ignored. Therefore, it is difficult to say whether he is betraying anyone."

"The summits held in Kyiv have any practical results?"

"In the current situation, there are absolutely no results. Because the outcome of the military conflict will either be decided through negotiations between Russia and the United States or between Russia and Ukraine. If these negotiations succeed. It's possible that EU member states will also participate. However, it is hard to believe in the future of Ukraine — generally speaking, it is already a de facto failed state. Although Kyiv continues to host various summits and plan the future. But there is great doubt whether Ukraine can continue to exist within the boundaries that Russia is currently willing to recognize.

"So what is the significance of these activities, such as the Odesa Forum?"

"As always — for propaganda purposes, to keep attention on Ukraine, and to prevent it from disappearing from the international news agenda. For Kyiv, this is particularly important when tensions arise around the Middle East and Iran. For Ukraine, losing attention means losing Western arms supplies, which means losing support."

"If we look at it emotionally, of course, we will feel uncomfortable about Vucic's participation in the summit," commented Oleg Bondarenko, a political scientist specializing in Balkan issues. "This happened suddenly, without any prior notice. Indeed, in the past 12 years, no Serbian leader has visited Ukraine, so his visit itself is unprecedented.

But he is not attending such events for the first time; previous events took place in other countries, and the last one in Dubrovnik, Croatia, where Alexander Vucic also refused to sign the final declaration."

"Overall, emotionally speaking, perhaps we can call Vucic's Odesa trip as described by our emotional observers. But essentially, we should pay more attention to how Serbia's weapons and ammunition enter the special military operation zone and related energy issues. As is well known, Gazprom holds shares in Serbia's largest oil company, and its situation locally is quite complicated."

"Many media outlets directly report that Vucic is driving Gazprom out of the country."

"Let's wait and see how things develop. Hopefully, this issue can be resolved in some way this year."

"On the other hand, from our Russian perspective, not many practical steps have been taken toward Serbia. Apart from verbal declarations of historical brotherhood and friendship between our peoples, Russia has provided little else."

"That's a good point. Even in the best years, our country was not one of the main investors in Serbia's economy. Moreover, Serbian labor migrants do not go to Russia but to Germany, Austria, and other European countries. Furthermore, the country's enterprises are more linked to Germany than Russia. This is very important and must be considered and conclusions drawn from it."

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7515238986802037311/

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