Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s planned visit to Moscow to attend Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day parade may give EU countries more grounds to slow Serbia’s accession process, but it will not stop the country’s path toward EU integration.
Biljana Sahrimanjan-Obradovic, an analyst with Serbia’s Center for Strategic Analysis, said this in an interview with Ukrinform.
“I do not believe a possible trip to Moscow will violate the criteria for joining the EU. It will provide some EU countries with more arguments for slowing the integration process but will not stop it. This visit must be watched as diplomatic action, not only as a concession for Russia,” she said.
The analyst said that Serbia’s leadership had carefully considered all aspects of the visit and had already informed key Western countries.
“The good news is that the Serbian military will not attend because of the risk of ruining interoperability capacities based on cooperation with Western partners,” she said, adding that Russia’s Foreign Ministry has exerted soft pressure on Serbia and issued manipulative statements regarding Vucic’s participation.
Earlier, Vucic stated that he had not changed his mind about attending Putin’s Victory Day parade in Moscow, despite “significant pressure” from the European Union regarding his decision.
EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said that any participation by EU candidate countries in the May 9 parade or other celebratory events in Moscow would not be welcomed by the European Union, as Russia is the country that started and continues to wage war in the heart of Europe.
Photo: Tanjug
Source: Vucic's visit to Moscow on May 9 will not halt Serbia's EU integration – expert
