Belgrade
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Serbia has had to manage a balancing act. The country negotiated an advantageous gas deal with Russia back in May, but has also had to maintain its accession talks with the European Union, aiding this by voting in favour of most of the UN resolutions adopted since the invasion. This includes one condemning the attack on Ukraine and another that demands Russia to reverse course on ‘attempted illegal annexations’.
However, as Russia intensifies its onslaught, Serbia does not seem to be helping itself. On November 15th, the same day that Ukraine saw some of the worst airstrikes since the start of the invasion, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić was seen posing in Chechen traditional clothing next to Turko Daudov, advisor to Head of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov. During the appearance, Vučić stressed that “Russian-Serbian relations cannot be destroyed under any kind of pressure.”
That same day saw an even bigger blow for the EU’s efforts in Serbia as Russia Today (RT) launched a Serbian language version of its website. The new site, dubbed RT Balkan, is also expected to get a TV broadcasting licence and start its programme in 2024.
RT’s editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan promoted the initiative with a provocative tweet: “We launched RT in the Balkans. Because Kosovo is Serbia.” In an official press release, she added that “we were probably not expected anywhere in the world as much as [in Serbia].”
The EU responded immediately. Notably, Vladimír Bilčík, MEP and the European Parliament’s Standing Rapporteur for Serbia, tweeted: “Actions speak louder than words. To see Russian propaganda making a grand comeback in Serbia via the launch of Russia Today is contrary to Serbia’s commitment to work on alignment with EU foreign policy.”
In light of high-profile criticism, Serbia has attempted to justify yet another friendly gesture towards Russia. The future lead of RT in Serbia, Jelena Milincic, pointed out: “Now the residents of the region will have access to RT in the Serbian language, which will provide a more complete picture of the modern world.” Alexander Bocan-Kharchenko, the Russian ambassador to Serbia, blamed the EU for hypocrisy, labelling a potential ban as a “cynical forgoing of basic European values.”
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SubscribeAfter the last 2 and half years I wouldn’t try taking the moral high ground with regards to propaganda.
After the last 2 and half years I wouldn’t try taking the moral high ground with regards to propaganda.
If only our friends are free to speak, it is not free speech.
If only our friends are free to speak, it is not free speech.
Typo in headline, surely? As in,
Still, I’d rather it not be censored, it would save me having to see what passes for war news from the “other side” on Telegram.
Agreed. Whenever I want a laugh, I go to Kotsnews, or Starshe Eddy.
BTW, Kots is also now on Russia’s Human Right Council–presumably with the mission to destroy human rights in Russia.
And Girkin will eventually go to gaol…
Agreed. Whenever I want a laugh, I go to Kotsnews, or Starshe Eddy.
BTW, Kots is also now on Russia’s Human Right Council–presumably with the mission to destroy human rights in Russia.
And Girkin will eventually go to gaol…
Typo in headline, surely? As in,
Still, I’d rather it not be censored, it would save me having to see what passes for war news from the “other side” on Telegram.
Why would the EU want Serbia to join? Surely they would be a massive financial drain on the already fractured bloc?
Why would the EU want Serbia to join? Surely they would be a massive financial drain on the already fractured bloc?
In a vacuum, free speech generally would require tolerance of Russian propaganda. However, the world is not a vacuum. The principles of free speech have often been restricted to some degree during wartime for obvious reasons. Whether the situation with the EU vis a vis Russia rises to that level of severity is an interesting debate. Why the EU wants to invite a country that is historically entwined with and friendly to an openly hostile Russia is, to this reader’s mind, the better question.
In a vacuum, free speech generally would require tolerance of Russian propaganda. However, the world is not a vacuum. The principles of free speech have often been restricted to some degree during wartime for obvious reasons. Whether the situation with the EU vis a vis Russia rises to that level of severity is an interesting debate. Why the EU wants to invite a country that is historically entwined with and friendly to an openly hostile Russia is, to this reader’s mind, the better question.
Serbia is just another expansionist state that somehow feels it has a “historic mission” to lord it over others. It’s past “suffering” somehow makes it uniquely qualified to rule all those around it.
I suspect the end of the war with Russia will solve the problem.
Empires are dead ducks everywhere.
Serbia is just another expansionist state that somehow feels it has a “historic mission” to lord it over others. It’s past “suffering” somehow makes it uniquely qualified to rule all those around it.
I suspect the end of the war with Russia will solve the problem.
Empires are dead ducks everywhere.