The relations between Serbia and Russia are by no means "unconditional love", the Swiss public service SRF reports. They say there are signs of Serbia turning its back on Moscow, but it won't happen overnight. It was recently learned that Serbian-made missiles ended up in the Ukrainian army arsenal, the Swiss public service SRF recalled in a radio analysis of the relationship between Serbia and Russia, Deutsche Welle wrote.

Official Belgrade replied that the ammunition was exported to Turkey and that Serbia has nothing to do with further resale through Slovakia to Ukraine. And yet the matter was met with displeasure in Moscow.

„They didn’t sell the material directly to Ukraine, but they didn’t take much care so it doesn’t end up there,“ Armina Galijas, an expert on the Balkans from the University of Graz said.

She told SRF, relations between Serbia and Russia are more pragmatic. „They are kind of cautious and never quite open. It’s not unconditional love“.

According to the SRF journalist, Serbian love for Russia has been staged in recent years as „Slavic and Orthodox brotherhood“. This image was pushed by the media and politicians in Belgrade, along with anti-Western attitudes. „Such an attitude is also shown in polls in which the majority of Serbs blame NATO for the war in Ukraine,“ the radio said. „However, Serbia does not support Russia unconditionally. The country has repeatedly condemned the war in Ukraine and emphasized that it does not recognize Russian annexations.“

According to Armina Galijas, the war is going against the interests of Serbia. „First of all, because geopolitically, a lot has changed. The time has come to take clear positions,“ she said.

The SRF states that it has become ever more difficult to go from East to West, which was „a central element of Serbian foreign policy in recent years.“

The Swiss radio also notes „indications that Serbia could move away from Russia: President Vucic complained about Russian influence in the country and confirmed that Serbia is on its way to the EU.“ It is conceivable for me they will break with Russia,“ Galijas said. „There are indications of that.“