Expert: West trying to put pressure on Vucic

Serbia should expect that external forces will continue to support destructive forces in the country, which may strengthen the protest movement, political scientist Ognjen Gogic told Report, commenting on the internal political situation in his country after the elections.

The expert noted that the West seeks to influence the current situation in Serbia’s internal politics in order to put pressure on President Vucic.

“I would say that the West wants to balance the power of Vucic in Serbia to some extent. They will probably support the opposition because if Vucic is too strong, he might not be that cooperative,” he said.

“It is interesting that when the protest broke out he met with Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandar Bocan Harcenko. Also, [Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson] Maria Zakharova was quoted in Serbian pro-government media for criticizing the protests.”

The political scientist said supporting the protests was a way to balance Vucic’s power.

The expert identified the issue of imposing sanctions against the Russian Federation as one of the main reasons for Serbia’s disagreements with Western countries: “The EU and the US have been repeating constantly that Serbia needs to align its foreign policy with the EU and impose sanctions against Russia. That is the main issue between Serbia and the West. Also, they complain against China and its investments in Serbia.”

Gogic believes that the European Union is concerned that the elections held in this country are not democratic enough. And although Serbia is a candidate for joining the EU, according to the expert, Belgrade should not count on early accession, which allows President Vucic not to look back at EU policy.

However, despite internal political differences, Serbian parties show solidarity on a number of foreign policy issues. The expert noted that this could be, for example, the issue of sanctions against Russia or the abandonment of Kosovo.

“There are no significant differences among political parties regarding these issues. Even the opposition parties were against any agreement with Kosovo that would include recognition. In that respect, the government and the opposition are on the same page. There are some differences regarding their stance towards Russia. Some of the opposition parties are in favor of distancing from Russia and aligning foreign policy with the EU. However, those parties would never be able to achieve a majority in the parliament for that move. As a result, nothing substantial would change in the foreign policy of Serbia would change even if the opposition came to power,” he added.