His threats were made in part as a result of pressure that Putin applied on Vučić to threaten an armed incursion into Kosovo and to destabilise the Balkans and draw attention away from Russia’s war in Ukraine. Recently, Vučić has gone so far as to suggest that Serbia might interfere in Kosovo to defend its Serbian minority. The main driving force behind the recent increase in support for Putin is Serbia’s hopes that a Putin victory in Ukraine will somehow enable them to regain control of parts of Kosovo and other parts of the Balkans. Putin and Vučić argue that Serbia and Russia have been wrongly portrayed as aggressors when they are only trying to protect their ethnic brothers. The most recent political alliance between Serbia and Russia is founded on a deep sense of resentment toward Nato for its role in the establishment of new republics that were a part of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, namely Kosovo and Ukraine. Since sanctions on Russia were put in place following Putin’s attack on Ukraine, Serbia has emerged as the top location for Russian businesses and highly qualified individuals, particularly in the tech industry, to relocate to in order to escape sanctions. The Serbian language is also closely connected to Russian. Serbia and Russia have a long history of close ties due to their shared Slavic and Orthodox heritage. Ukraine recap: Russia's 'modern siege tactics' fail to break the people's will to resist Billboards featuring a picture of Putin and the words “ happy birthday to President Putin from Serb brothers” with the letter Z printed much larger than the others were put up to mark Putin’s 70th birthday. Since the war in Ukraine began, a mural depicting Putin with the flags of Russia and Serbia and the word “ brother” were seen in Belgrade. Graffiti on walls in Belgrade, Serbia’s capital, also included the “Z” symbol, which has come to represent public support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Serbia, as an EU candidate state, is expected to do the same.Īfter Putin invaded Ukraine, he had strong support in Serbia, where multiple rallies were held in his honour. Putin and the Serb president Aleksandar Vučić also have signed a new gas agreement, and the state-controlled Air Serbia airline has doubled its flights from Belgrade to Moscow.Īll this runs counter to the EU’s foreign policy decision to sever some of its ties with Putin over Ukraine. Instead, Serbia has signed an agreement with Russia to “ consult” each other on foreign policy issues.

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