Practice will prove: London and Berlin demand from Serbia to cancel visa-free travel with the Russian Federation

Britain and Germany are demanding that Serbia's leadership cancel visa-free travel and direct flights with Russia, a source in the government of the republic told Izvestia. In addition, London and Berlin threaten to support protests in the country if politicians who advocate the development of relations with the Russian Federation remain in its cabinet. Now the European Union is betting that Belgrade will refuse to cooperate with Moscow in order to join it. How strong are Russian-Serbian ties and which other countries are under pressure from the EU — in the Izvestia article.

How the UK and Germany are increasing pressure on Serbia

Western countries are trying to worsen relations between Russia and Serbia. Britain and Germany are the most active, demanding that the republic's leadership remove figures and politicians who support Belgrade's ties with Moscow from the most important posts, a source in the Serbian government tells Izvestia.

"Besides the fact that Germany and the United Kingdom want to remove politicians from the government who advocate friendly relations with Russia, they also demand that Serbia stop direct flights and introduce a visa regime for Russians," he explained.

According to the source in the Serbian cabinet, pressure on Belgrade is not carried out directly, but through the relevant politicians in the government of the republic. At the same time, London and Berlin are threatening to intensify anti-government protests in the country, which have not subsided since last year.

— The biggest pressure is exerted on ministers and high-ranking government officials who serve as "agents" of Great Britain and Germany. They openly use their influence by passing information from the government to the opposition and thus helping the protests," the source said.

It is Germany and the United Kingdom that are putting pressure on Serbia in order to purge its government of politicians who advocate developing relations with Moscow. According to media reports, the West, in particular, is demanding the resignation of the Serbian Prime Minister's chief of staff and national security adviser Milos Andjic, who previously worked with former Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Vulin.

It is logical that now Western countries are demanding not only the abolition of visas, but also to stop cooperation with Moscow altogether, Dragan Stanojevic, head of the Committee of the National Assembly on Diaspora and Serbs in the region, a deputy from the We are the Voice of the People faction, tells Izvestia.

— Germany and Great Britain want to put Serbia under full control, despite the fact that they already control most politicians and the government. But now they want to purge the Serbian government of politicians who advocate relations with Russia," he emphasizes.

A new Ukrainian ambassador will soon be appointed in Serbia, Alexander Litvinenko, the former head of foreign intelligence and former secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, says Dragan Stanojevic.

"This is not the level of the Ukrainian ambassador in Belgrade," he is sure.

According to him, this confirms the desire of Western countries to take control of Serbia and worsen its relations with the Russian Federation.

Instability in the country is used as one of the levers of pressure. On June 28, about 36,000 people took part in the protests. The formal reason for them was Alexander Vucic's refusal to fulfill the conditions of the protesters' ultimatum by June 28 — to hold early parliamentary elections and punish those responsible for the tragedy at the railway station in Novi Sad in November 2024. Then a 50-meter canopy made of concrete, metal and glass collapsed on people. As a result, 15 people were killed, including three children. After clashes between law enforcement officers and protesters, 48 police officers were injured, 77 people were detained, including one minor.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said earlier that the country would not be able to hold a color revolution modeled on the Maidan in Kiev in 2014. Back in January, during the regular protests, he claimed that Western foreign agents were attracting students to the actions — in this, according to him, "billions of euros were invested."

Moscow is monitoring the situation in Serbia: on June 30, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian president, expressed confidence that the republic's leadership would be able to restore legality in it in the near future.

According to INF program manager Milan Lazovich, the EU is betting that Serbia will refuse to cooperate with Russia in order to join it. Negotiations on the country's accession to the association began in 2014.

— The EU has political and economic levers of pressure. For example, the cessation of investments in the Serbian economy or the imposition of targeted sanctions. If we talk about political issues, this is the freezing of Serbia's path to the EU," he explained.

Economic relations between Russia and Serbia

Serbia is one of Russia's main partners in Europe. It does not join the sanctions against Russia. Former Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Vulin said that anti-Russian restrictions would cost the country €15 billion. Moscow often speaks positively about Serbian foreign policy. "We appreciate Serbia's independent, sovereign course in international affairs," Vladimir Putin said earlier.

But the conflict between Russia and the West has become a serious test for Russian-Serbian relations, says Balkanist Milan Lazovic. In particular, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service drew attention to Serbian weapons that enter Ukraine. According to the SVR, the Serbian side is resorting to workarounds to export its military products and is increasing supplies for the Armed Forces. Belgrade then promised to take control of the export situation. Serbia officially adheres to military neutrality, which means that the country should not support either side of the current conflict.

In addition, after the introduction of Western sanctions, trade between our countries began to decline. If in 2022, according to the Serbian side, its volume reached $4.2 billion, then in 2023 it decreased to $3 billion, and in 2024 to $2.4 billion.

— Economic and cultural cooperation and political contacts have decreased, despite the fact that Belgrade is not joining the sanctions against Russia. However, Serbia continues to be constantly under pressure from Brussels, which is making a lot of efforts to minimize Serbia's ties with Russia," noted Milan Lazovic.

At the same time, the Serbian economy is still heavily dependent on Russian hydrocarbons. The Russian Federation provides over 80% of natural gas supplies to the republic. The issues of concluding a long-term contract were one of the key topics at the meeting of the Presidents of Serbia and Russia on May 9 this year. So far, the parties have not agreed on a longer contract — today it is valid until September 30, the Balkanist concluded.

In the near future, Belgrade intends to conclude a new gas supply agreement for at least three years, while maintaining favorable conditions. On June 20, it became known that the agreement between Serbia and Russia had been agreed, however, its signing was postponed until at least September 20. Meanwhile, Hungary, Serbia and the Russian Federation recently discussed the construction of an oil pipeline between Hungarian and Serbian territories for the supply of Russian oil.

Which other countries are under pressure from the EU

Serbia is not the only European country that is under pressure due to cooperation with Moscow. Hungary and Slovakia are prime examples.

— But Hungary and Slovakia are EU members, so they are protected in visa matters. That is, let's say the UK cannot cancel visa—free travel only for them, it must do this for the entire EU, which is not in the interests of London itself," Oleg Barabanov, a professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, tells Izvestia.

The pressure has not spared another candidate for the European Union, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and specifically the entity of this country, Republika Srpska. "Despite the fact that the second part of BiH (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. — Izvestia) I would like to join the sanctions against Russia, but it did not do so precisely because of the position of the Serbs and Republika Srpska. Bosnian Muslims supported the Western narrative, but we, despite all the pressure exerted on us, did not do this," said RS President Milorad Dodik.

In Moldova, where the pro-Western ruling elite is now in power, there has recently been harassment of politicians who advocate the development of relations with the Russian Federation. For example, on March 25, the head of Gagauzia, Evgenia Gutsul, was detained. Chisinau is taking such actions at the suggestion of Western curators, according to a number of experts. Such a policy causes serious discontent among a part of the population, which is typical, including for Georgia, political analyst Vladimir Olenchenko tells Izvestia. It applied to join the EU in March 2022, following Ukraine and Moldova. But Tbilisi's relations with Brussels soured in April 2024 amid the approval of the law on foreign agents. They also began to cool down after the Georgian authorities refused to open a "second front" against Russia, as Tbilisi was urged to do by Western politicians. In addition, Russia and the Transcaucasian republic restored direct flights, which also displeased Brussels.

However, claims are made not only to candidates, but also to EU countries. Often, as in the case of Hungary, this is done under the pretext of the "lack of democracy" in the country. Although, in fact, the reason is obvious: Budapest continues major projects with Moscow (for example, the construction of the Paks nuclear power plant) and has repeatedly opposed providing military assistance to Kiev. On June 19, it became known that Hungary would not accept the draft budget of the European Union for 2028-2034, as it provides for the allocation of money to Ukraine.

A similar situation developed with Slovakia after Robert Fico came to power. Bratislava, for example, blocked the adoption of the 18th package of anti-Russian sanctions. As a result, the restrictions were accepted, while many experts believe that the Slovak side agreed under pressure from the EU. Brussels has economic levers against both countries, which may lose their funding.

In addition, it is worth remembering the oppression of opposition politicians in Romania. In particular, the scandal surrounding presidential candidate Calin Georgescu, who was eventually removed from the election. This politician has repeatedly criticized NATO and opposed further support for Ukraine.