Serbia could be blocked from joining the European Union if its President Aleksandar Vucic travels to Russia next month for the Victory Day parade, the English newspaper “Telegraph“ reported yesterday, quoted by Serbian television En1.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the EU's warnings “Euro-Nazism“.
“80 years ago, fascists similarly forced those they considered “second-class citizens“ to renounce their homeland, people and religion,” Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel.
The EU's reaction comes after Russian state media reported that Aleksandar Vucic will be one of the foreign guests at the event, and Serbia will participate with military units and equipment in the spectacle on May 9. European officials warned Vucic that his visit would violate EU membership criteria and jeopardize Serbia's European ambitions, writes „Telegraph“.
European High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaia Kallas said that EU foreign ministers discussed the possible participation of candidate countries in the ceremony in Moscow at yesterday's meeting, emphasizes En1.
„It was very clearly discussed and several member states said that any participation in parades or celebrations on May 9 in Moscow would not be viewed favorably by a European country, given that Russia is waging a real, all-out war in Europe“, she told reporters after the meeting, quoted by „Index“.
Serbia has long tried to maintain good relations with both Brussels and Moscow, recalls En1. The Balkan country applied for EU membership in 2009 and was granted candidate status in 2012. Serbia’s accession talks have stalled in recent years due to its apparent support for Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
Belgrade has refused to impose sanctions on Russia in response to the war, which most EU member states require as a condition of membership. Russia also owns a majority stake in Serbia’s only oil refinery and has refused to sell it, making Serbia economically dependent on Moscow.
Kaia Kallas has warned other EU members not to participate in Putin’s Victory Day parade, which this year marks the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II. Slovakia, an EU member with close ties to Moscow, has also been invited to the event next month. Robert Fico, the prime minister of Slovakia, said last year that he would attend and is one of the few EU leaders to meet Putin in the more than three years since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, considered Putin's closest ally in Europe, will not attend.
“I have invited all members, as well as representatives of institutions, to visit Kiev as often as possible to show our solidarity and that we are with Ukraine,“ said Kallas, quoted by En1.