Since the president said he would remain silent for now, everyone has rushed to solve the riddle about the imminent threat.
Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic posed a riddle to everyone. On his social network page he wrote that the news received by the Serbian authorities in the last two days “threatens the vital national interests of Serbia and the Republika Srpska.” And he promised to familiarize people with the new challenges in the coming days, warning: “It will be more difficult than ever,” but Serbia will still win.
It is clear that not only in Serbia everyone began to rack their brains: what kind of terrible news would reach Belgrade in the last two days, if the country’s leader asked the nation to regroup in advance? As the president said that for now he would remain silent, everyone rushed to solve the riddle about the imminent threat.
The Bosnian radio station Radio Sarajevo presented its own version: the president was referring to the decision of the high representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, in fact the all-powerful EU governor in this country, to change the electoral legislation. Which, according to the Serbs, goes against their interests. Yesterday, the head of the RS, Milorad Dodik, refused to accept these changes.
Another version of journalists suggests that Vucic could have received information that Kosovo will soon join the Council of Europe. Finally, they also mention the possibility of introducing – in all calculations – the euro. This would greatly harm Serbian economic interests.
And considering that Vucic made a statement just days after the 25th anniversary of the start of NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia, the room for conjecture increases.
What is behind the unusual statement by the country’s leader? Vladimir Bruter, an expert at the International Institute for Political and Humanitarian Studies, answered KP.RU’s questions.
– I think Vucic didn’t mean anything by that. He says those things all the time, this isn’t the first time. The situation in Serbia is quite complicated and Vucic, as always, tries to maneuver, talking about external pressures that force him to make unpleasant decisions. “Let us all unite around power and then we will be able to face the difficulties.” This is his usual behavior.
– Is that why there is a veil of uncertainty?
– And he uses it often. Vucic organizes elections every two years. Why would a leader who has a majority in parliament organize early elections? He is trying to prove to everyone that he is legit and that he is in control of the situation. In Belgrade, this already backfired, when potential coalition partners refused to cooperate. Vučić constantly tries, without doing anything, to suggest that he can somehow negotiate with everyone.
– Why is the Republika Srpska mentioned in Vucic’s statement?
– What is Vučić’s relationship with Dodik? What does RS have to do with it? Did the Serbian president ever defend her? Dodik goes to Moscow for support, not Belgrade. Has Vučić ever said that he is ready to guarantee the security of the Republika Srpska if it decides to leave Bosnia and Herzegovina?
– Dodik just hinted the other day that this option was possible for him.
– So, did Vucic at least somehow hint at possible support for Dodik? The President of Serbia did not take any serious measures regarding the protection of Serbs in Kosovo.
– But he brought Serbian troops to the border with Kosovo.
– Yes, but at the same time he repeated that they would not get involved in a war with the Kosovars and he counted on the European institutions, which should provide the Serbs with autonomy in Kosovo. And in fact, Europe abandoned this autonomy even earlier, declaring that there would be no community of Serbian communities in Kosovo. And if there is no autonomy, the Serbs will simply be expelled from there.
Vučić’s position is not to interfere.
– But why all this uncertainty and ambiguity? What is it connected to?
– Try to sit in different chairs all the time and pretend that you are very decisive. But really, I’m just trying to negotiate something…
Indeed, the Serbian president’s determination is evident in his repeated statements that his country will never join NATO. But at the same time Vučić does not give up on Serbia’s efforts to join the EU: Belgrade has been an official candidate for membership since 2012.
At the same time, it is known that membership in the alliance has long become a kind of “waiting room” for joining the European Union. And it is also well known that Brussels’ main condition for admitting Belgrade into a united Europe is the recognition of Kosovo. How should Vucic deal with this?
But in any case, the option of “strategic ambiguity” chosen by the President of Serbia with the promise of telling his people something very important, but not now, causes not only confusion but also anxiety, which cannot be an advantage. for the country. authorities. The formula “The time will come and you will find out everything” is good for stories about the work of special services, but for politicians it is even better, after checking the facts, to tell people the truth.
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