(MENAFN- The Conversation) that Serbs admire the most and 95% of Serbs see Russia as a true ally, compared to only 11% who see the EU that way, despite the , according to a recent poll.
And 68% of Serbs said in the same poll that they believed Nato, not Vladimir Putin, had started the war in Ukraine, with 82% against the sanctions imposed on Russia.
While much of Europe is backing Ukraine in the current war, Serbia is taking a very different position. In Serbia, the government and the public both display high levels of support for Putin and Russia.
For example, Serbia has not or distanced itself from .
Instead, Serbia has signed an agreement with Russia to“” each other on foreign policy issues. Putin and the Serb president Aleksandar Vučić also have signed a , and the state-controlled Air Serbia airline has doubled its flights from .
All this runs counter to the EU's foreign policy decision to sever some of its ties with Putin over Ukraine. Serbia, as an , is expected to do the same.
After Putin invaded Ukraine, he had strong support in Serbia, where were held in his honour. Graffiti on walls in Belgrade, Serbia's capital, also included the , which has come to represent public .
Since the war in Ukraine began, with the flags of Russia and Serbia and the word“” were seen in Belgrade. Billboards featuring a picture of Putin and the words“” with the letter Z printed much larger than the others were put up to mark Putin's 70th birthday.
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Serbia and Russia have a long due to their shared Slavic and Orthodox heritage. The Serbian language is also closely connected to Russian.
Since sanctions on Russia were put in place following Putin's attack on Ukraine, Serbia has emerged as the top location for Russian and highly qualified individuals, particularly in the tech industry, to to in order to escape sanctions.
The most recent political alliance between 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 and . Putin and Vučić argue that Serbia and Russia have been wrongly when they are only trying to protect their ethnic brothers.
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 and other parts of the . Recently, Vučić has gone so far as to suggest that might interfere in to defend its Serbian minority.
Shutterstock 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 from Russia's war in Ukraine. But neither Putin's actual influence in the Balkans nor Serbia's facilitation of Russia's geopolitical goals in the region are being taken seriously by the .
Since Vučić came to power ten years ago, Serbia has maintained a facade of . He has done a good job of playing the two sides against one another to increase Serbia's bargaining power on issues like energy, security, EU membership, and prolong the recognition of . Meanwhile, Serbia's adherence to EU foreign policy has significantly decreased from .
This strategy has been successful for the interests of Serbia, which is the primary recipient of and is considered a to join the EU by .
The main source of Putin's influence in the Balkans is Serbia, and as part of cementing that Vučić has welcomed a Russian military installation . According to Nato, the facility acts as a hub for Russian .
Putin uses the Balkans, particularly Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as a bargaining chip in his dealings with Nato and the EU. He has even sought to use in 1990s to support his attack on Ukraine.
Putin backs Balkan politicians
Putin has also been effective in endorsing or backing that can enhance its reputation and weaken the influence of Nato and the EU across the Balkans. The conservative received close to US$500,000 (£443,000) during the 2017 parliamentary elections, according to a recent declassified . Some lawmakers in Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina also received funding from Russia.
The rest of Europe has not fully recognised Russia's influence in the Balkans and Serbia's role in advancing Putin's geopolitical objectives. Some members of the that the EU needs to reevaluate Serbia's membership.
The EU states, in particular Germany and France, are still divided over Putin's considerable influence in the Balkans, and have only expressed their“” with Vučić's decisions.
Putin's influence in the Balkans shouldn't be ignored and since Serbia has made it obvious that it wants to deepen its ties with Russia, the EU shouldn't be duped by the facade of neutrality that Vučić's has skilfully maintained over the years.
If the EU cautions Serbia that a EU candidate state's relations with Russia cannot be“” then it may have to rethink its pro-Russia policy.