The new Serbian Government will try to balance relations between Russia and the European Union, given the drastic deterioration in relations between the Kremlin and the West caused by the Ukrainian crisis, assessed foreign and domestic experts on foreign policy. In this context, they emphasize that Serbia will be requested to align its policy with the EU, which is in line with the Stabilization and Association Agreement between the EU and Serbia that has been in force since 1 September 2013.
“We expect that the future Serbian government will follow the majority opinion of the states that Russia violated international law by sending the army to the Ukrainian territory Crimea by supporting the illegal referendum on the status of Crimea and by annexing Crimea,” said Knut Flekenschtain, an official of the Social Democratic Party of Germany and Member of the European Parliament.
Bodo Weber, a German analyst for the Western Balkans and senior associate at the Council for the policy of democratization in Berlin, believes that Belgrade will try to balance relations between Russia and the EU. “Serbia will keep a certain distance from the current conflict between Moscow and the West. This means that they will continue the path of joining the EU, while trying to keep economic ties with Russia,” said Weber.
Aleksandra Joksimovic, president of the Center for Foreign Policy, told Danas that Serbia is strikingly silent in relation to the events in Ukraine. “For now there is justification, which was accepted in EU circles, given that the new government have not been yet elected. In this context, there is no apparent pressure for Serbia’s position. However, when a new government will be formed, depending on the further worsening of relations between the U.S. and Russia on one side and the EU and Russia on the other, Serbia might be pressured to clearly determine this conflict,” she said.
Joksimovic believes that, regardless of their denial, Russia changed its position towards Kosovo by publicly comparing Crimea and Kosovo. “In the future, the Russian side will constantly place the solution for the Crimea and Kosovo on the same level. In this context, the influence of the situation in Ukraine on the Western Balkan region and Serbia should be considered. Despite that member states may have their own independent views on foreign policy, it is expected that it will be consistent with the general interests of the EU. The same rule applies to the candidate,” commented Joksimovic.
