Serbia’s Russian Flirtations Are Just That
The Balkan country’s trade pact with Putin’s Eurasian Economic Union is a mild act of rebellion, but its destiny still lies within the European Union.
Biding his time, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is working all sides.
Photographer: Darko Vojinovic/APOn Friday, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic went to Moscow to sign a free trade deal with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hapless European Union clone. It’s an economically insignificant deal for both sides, but it’s meant as a pointed reminder to the EU and the U.S. that when it comes to the Balkans, Western institutions are not the only game in town.
The truth of the matter, however, is that they are. Though Putin’s offer of mediation and support to foreign regimes is finding takers in the Middle East and, increasingly, in Africa, Russia has much less to offer Balkan countries than even Turkey or China, let alone the EU. Secure in that knowledge, EU leaders won’t worry too much about Serbia, a candidate for accession to the bloc, going rogue.