Serbia Rejects EU Call for Russia Sanctions

Russia and Serbia have developed close ties since the Yugoslav Wars. Source: AP

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic announced in a meeting on October 25 with Belarus’s Minister of Information, “We will never recognize Kosovo’s independence and we will never be able to impose sanctions on Russia.”

He further stated that Serbia did not want to take position on an issue that could risk the loss of an ally.

Earlier that week, Nikolic had also called Russia “one of [Serbia’s] most important pillars of support during almost our entire history." This response has strained Serbia’s relations with the European Union. Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic called the EU’s pressure on Serbia to join Russian sanctions “absolutely unacceptable.”

Serbia has been an EU candidate since March 2012 and is predicted to formally join in 2020. However, in a meeting with Slovenian Prime Minister Miro Cerar, Nikolic called the EU’s conditions for entry “humiliating.” This is possibly in reference to the requirement of recognizing the status of Kosovo as an independent country, which Serbia has refused to do since Kosovo’s 2008 secession.

Serbia also remains Russia’s strongest ally in the Balkans, with Russian Security Council head Nikolai Patrushev even asking Serbia to sign a “memorandum of understanding,” which would establish formal communication and cooperation between the security agencies of the two countries. Serbia and Russia have also announced a joint plan to deliver aid to the Syrian city of Aleppo.

There has been some support for close relations between Serbia and Russia on the EU side. David McAllister, a member of the European Parliament, stated that Serbia and Russia’s close relations “can be a bridge” to better EU-Russian relations.

Whether Serbia will pivot towards Russia or the EU remains unseen. Nikolic has indicated that Serbia wants to be part of the EU, but seems unwilling to agree to its conditions. Under Chapter 31 of the EU Accession requirements, Serbia must align its foreign policy with the EU’s, which would force it to both recognize Kosovo and render its free trade agreement with Russia void.