The president of Serbia remains steadfast in his plans to attend Russia’s Victory Day parade next month, despite EU officials warning him against it. Populist president Aleksandar Vucic plans to participate in Moscow’s World War 2 commemorations on May 9 following an invitation from Vladimir Putin, even though it may jeopardise Serbia’s hope to join the European Union.
Mr Vucic has been told that attending would result in a breach of the organisation’s membership criteria for new members and would likely affect the outcome of the bloc’s decision. The visit would also be seen as Serbia supporting President Putin amid his ongoing war with Ukraine. The Serbian president revealed that he will not only be attending, but his country will be taking part in "jointly" organising the event. He said that one of Serbia’s military units would be participating in the parade in the Russian capital.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Vucic said: “In the coming period, we will be under pressure regarding the event in Moscow in which we have announced our participation.”
This follows EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas stating the European Union has made it very clear it does not want any country or candidate for membership to be partaking in the parade next month.
Serbia applied to join the bloc in 2009 and has been a candidate for membership since 2012.
Despite claiming he wants his country to join the bloc, Serbia’s president has strengthened his relationship with Russia over the past years. This was highlighted when the war between Ukraine and Russia commenced, and Serbia refused to implement Western sanctions against Mr Putin’s country - a key factor in preventing Serbia from joining the EU.
Serbia is not the only country in Europe to be attending Moscow’s WW2 commemorations. Mr Vucic plans to travel with Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robery Fico, who had branded Ms Kallas’ warning to EU leaders against travel to Russia as "disrespectful".
President Vucic’s party, the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), has been in power since 2012. He claimed re-election victory in December 2023 when a snap election was held, winning 47% of the vote.
