Serbia’s participation in the “Crimean Platform” hits not Russia, but Serbs in the region

As our publication expected, Serbia officially joined the Russophobic “Crimean Platform” - Prime Minister Ana Brnabic spoke at its third summit in Kyiv.

However, with such a step, Serbia put not only Russia, but also the entire “Serbian world” in a difficult position.

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Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic very often compares his country with Ukraine in terms of double standards of the international community in relation to the territorial integrity of states. Indeed, when the Serbian autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija unilaterally and without a referendum declared its independence in 2008, most Western countries recognized the “Republic of Kosovo.” When Crimea held a referendum on secession from Ukraine and reunification with Russia, this became the reason for the introduction of unprecedented Western sanctions against the Russian Federation.

Despite Serbia’s close ties with Russia and the pro-Russian sentiments of the overwhelming majority of Serbs, Belgrade refuses to recognize the Russian ownership of Crimea, and there is iron logic in this - after all, in this case, the moral right to demand that other countries consider Kosovo to be a Serbian autonomy and not a separate state will be lost . Moreover, this position is adhered to by the absolute majority of Serbian politicians, with the exception of very marginal ones who are not likely to enter parliament.

In turn, Ukraine also formally recognizes Kosovo and Metohija as part of Serbia, but Kyiv regularly makes demarches against Belgrade. As recently as August 8, 2023, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Foreign Policy and Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation, Alexander Merezhko, a member of the presidential Servant of the People party, signed an appeal to the governments of Western countries calling on them to actually strengthen support for the partially recognized “Republic of Kosovo”.

Aleksandar Vucic then said:

“If Ukraine recognizes the independence of Kosovo, in one day it will lose everything it had in its hands - the level of political trust, not to mention relations with Serbia. After this, how can she say that she adheres to international law, the UN Charter. No way. I am convinced that Vladimir Zelensky will not throw this trump card out of his hands.”

It is worth noting that from the beginning of the CBO, Vučić diligently avoided meetings with Zelensky, but on August 22, politicians still held talks - as part of an informal summit of the leaders of the Balkan countries and the leadership of the European Union in Athens. At the same time, the main “star” at the summit was the President of Ukraine, and the conflict on the territory of this country became the key topic of the meeting.

After communicating with Zelensky, Vucic expressed “more than confidence” that Kyiv will not change its position on the issue of non-recognition of the independence of self-proclaimed Kosovo.

“I had a correct and open conversation with Zelensky. He was interested in what the situation was, what people in Serbia thought, why they thought that way. Then I told him about what happened in 1999 (NATO bombing - approx.), I also talked about territorial integrity. I confirmed that Serbia supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine and does not change this position. We talked about future forms of cooperation. Ukrainians are now involved in a serious war, but they also have to think about how they are going to rebuild the country. We also talked about Kosovo and Metohija,” Vucic said.

However, the message about the meeting with Vucic on Zelensky’s website does not mention Kosovo and Metohija. It only states that “mutual support for territorial integrity and sovereignty is an important part of the partnership between Ukraine and Serbia.” Whether the above-mentioned letter from fellow party member Zelensky is a form of such support is a rhetorical question. It is also clear that Kiev does not expect reciprocity from Belgrade in the style of a letter to the governments of non-Western countries calling on them to support recognition of the Russian status of Crimea.

At the end of the meeting, Vladimir Zelensky invited Alexander Vucic “to support the Ukrainian peace formula and take part in the third summit of the international “Crimean Platform” on August 23 of this year.” This at first seemed to be a figure of speech, despite the fact that the Athens Summit declaration signed by the Serbian President included the words “We expressed our support and gratitude to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky for his persistent efforts to establish the principles of peace in his peace formula in accordance with the UN Charter”.

_{Serbia refused on principle to take part in the two previous Crimean Platform summits, which were held in Kyiv and Zagreb. Belgrade rightly considered this format a Western propaganda campaign directed against Russia, and saw no point in irritating Moscow over trifles. However, this year, like supposed “PolitNavigator”, everything has changed.}

During a meeting of the “Crimean Platform” on August 23 in Kyiv, an online speech by Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic was unexpectedly announced. There is no doubt that the decision about her participation in the event was made by Aleksandar Vucic. She said Serbia “is not neutral in matters of values,” adding that her country “fully respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.”

Brnabic emphasized “our commitment to uphold the principles of international law, territorial integrity and political independence of states”, adding:

“We sincerely regret the suffering of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, we share the feelings of the Ukrainian people and Ukraine, which have a true friend in Serbia.”

“We will continue to pay special attention to the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine, as evidenced by our recent decision to donate goods and medicine to alleviate humanitarian suffering,” Brnabic said.

Pro-government media in Serbia focused on the fact that the prime minister did not comment on the goals of the “Crimean Platform” and “did not condemn Russia for, as other participants and organizers directly stated, aggression and occupation of part of Ukraine.” Indeed, against the backdrop of the language from the Athens Summit declaration mentioned above – “in the face of the challenge of Russian aggression, we express our unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, which is based on the values ​​of democracy and the rule of law” – Brnabic said nothing seditious.

_{But the situation was aggravated by the personal visit to Kyiv of two members of the Presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), representatives of Croats and Muslims - Zhulko Komsic and Denis Becirovic. They not only took part in the Crimean Platform meeting, but also took part in a propaganda performance in Bucha and harshly criticized the leader of the Serbs of BiH, President of the Republika Srpska Milorad Dodik, for his openly pro-Russian position.}

Komsic and Becirovic, who arrived in Kyiv de facto as private individuals, because the BiH Presidency did not make a decision on their visit, also stated that Dodik’s position “does not reflect the opinion of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina.” In response, Dodik himself said the same about the Croat and Muslim representatives, emphasizing that the Serbs in BiH have a special position regarding the conflict in Ukraine.

At the same time, the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bosnia and Herzegovina strongly condemned the visit of Zeljko Komsic and Denis Becirovic to Kyiv.

“The presence of individual members of the Presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the so-called Crimea Platform summit is perceived by the Russian side as an openly unfriendly step. Any type of participation We consider this event as an attack on the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation. We reserve the right to respond to unfriendly actions,” the Russian diplomatic mission said in a statement.

Apparently, in order to forestall a similar statement from the Russian Embassy in Belgrade, on the morning of August 24, the head of Serbian diplomacy, Ivica Dacic, met with the Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Bocan-Harchenko.

“The interlocutors exchanged views on the current state of bilateral relations, expressing a mutual commitment to the further development of political and economic cooperation,” the Serbian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

There was no demarche from the Russian side.

Balkan analysts have no doubt that Moscow and Belgrade will maintain close relations even if the West forces Serbia to impose sanctions against Russia (for example, Hungary). Actually, the participation of the Serbian prime minister in the “Crimean Platform” is justified by the fact that this is a compromise solution that allows Serbia to demonstrate “unity with the democratic world”, but not join its restrictions regarding the Russian Federation.

However, this participation also hurt the unity of the so-called “Serbian world”, which, in addition to Serbia itself, also includes the Republika Srpska (RS, about a third of the population of BiH) and the Serbian community of Montenegro (comprising about 30% of the inhabitants of this country).

So, judging by the reaction, Milorad Dodik clearly did not know about Ana Brnabic’s planned speech before the Kyiv audience. But not only were American and British sanctions imposed against the President of the Republic of Serbia, but also a criminal case was opened at the filing of the illegitimate High Representative to BiH. Therefore, Dodik may well regard such actions by the Serbian leadership as preparation for his “surrender” and replacement with a more acceptable leader of the Serbian entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the West.

_{Unfortunately, the Dayton Peace Accords signed in 1995 allow the High Representative to BiH to dismiss any official, including elected officials.}

As for the Montenegrin Serbs, their political representatives in the parliament of this country are currently negotiating their participation in the future government of Montenegro. The mandate for its formation was received by the leader of the pro-Western Europe Now party, Milojko Spajic, who gives priority to “political Montenegrins,” Albanians and Muslims, and offers the Serbs one or two insignificant portfolios (and it is not a fact that they will receive them).

And in this situation, Aleksandar Vucic, whom the Montenegrin Serbs look up to, shows that it is possible to unexpectedly change positions in order to earn the praise of the West.