Former US ambassador: Serbia seems to be siding with Russia

NEWS 26.10.202208:57
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A former US Ambassador to Serbia said that Belgrade seems to have sided with Moscow.

From afar it seems that Serbia has chosen to side with Russia in the Russia-Ukraine war, Ambassador Michael Kirby told the Voice of America.

Kirby said he believes that the fact that Serbia is not taking part in the Crimea Platform in Zagreb is linked to Moscow’s expectations of Belgrade. A note on the meeting between Serbian parliament Speaker Vladimir Orlic and Russian Ambassador Alexander Botsan-Harchenko said that the ambassador expects Serbia not to take part in the summit in Zagreb despite being invited. The International Crimea Platform was launched by Ukraine in 2021 to address the Russian occupation of the Crimea.

Ambassador Kirby, who was in Belgrade from 2012 to 2016, said that he sees significant Russian influence in important institutions in Serbia as well as the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). He warned that the Serbian authorities seem to be acting contrary to the expressed commitment to go down the European path. Bearing in mind Serbia’s opposition to the independence of Kosovo it seems that Serbia is accepting Russia’s land grab under double standards, he said.