Alexander Vulin, director of the Serbian Information Security Agency - the so-called BIA, resigned. Serbia's number one intelligence officer quit voluntarily when he became painfully uncomfortable for his patron, President Aleksandar Vucic.
The resignation was long overdue. The other option was to replace him, but Vucic refused to take that step and get rid of his close friend immediately after the US imposed sanctions on Vulin in June. Thus he became the highest-ranking Serbian politician to be blacklisted by Washington on charges of corruption, ties to Russia, and arms and narcotics trafficking.
While Vulin pathetically explained that the USA and the EU wanted his head, Washington diplomatically replied that it does not interfere in the personnel decisions of the Serbian government. Not a little surprised, Vucic hastened to explain that he hopes to cooperate with Vulin in the future and that he is not a Russian spy. It became clear that Vucic had washed his hands of the awkward Vulin, who had long been a thorn in the West's side with his pro-Russian rhetoric, visits and high-level meetings in Moscow.
There are justified doubts that, under the pressure of Vulin, the Serbian secret services also spied on the Russian opposition, sought refuge in Serbia, and generously provided data to their Moscow colleagues. Vulin was called "the Russian officer in Belgrade" by the Serbian opposition. The doors were wide open for him from Russia, unlike the USA, for which he was persona non grata.
Vulin also struck a big political blow against Serbia with his fixed idea "Serbian world", in which Belgrade should unite all Serbs from outside and inside, and Vucic should be their president. Not to mention the fact that it is impossible that the Serbian secret services did not know about the armed operation in the village of Banska in Kosovo. If Vucic claims that he did not know about this action, then what is the purpose of the Serbian BIA and Vulin, who should have informed him about the decisions of the dangerous rebel Milan Radojcic to enter Kosovo with weapons.
Vucic and Vulin inspect the new Russian weapon
Vulin was a former Minister of the Directorate for Kosovo and Minister of Police and Defense, although he did not serve in the army. His biography is also connected with the "Aunt from Canada" affair. He could not explain where he got 200,000 euros to buy an apartment and admitted shyly that he had borrowed money from his wife's aunt in Canada. Since there was no evidence of officially sent money, Vulin allowed himself the luxury of mocking the intelligence of the Serbs with the "9 by 9" formula, admitting that 9 times 9 thousand. dollars were brought from Canada to Serbia by hand. On the other hand, he is also connected with the "Jovanica" affair - a mansion where a ton and a half of marijuana were found.
The Serbian secret services were under the authority of a political chameleon until now, who from being an adviser to Milosevic's wife and her party JU (Yugoslav Left), moved through high government positions and cemented pro-Russian Serbian politics and hysteria in Serbia. Political analysts in Belgrade estimate that Vulin's high positions can only be explained by his loyalty to Vučić, but also by the fact that he is certainly Putin's man in Serbia. In any case, this belated resignation is only a symbolic act and a bow to the West at a time when concrete actions are expected from Serbia - sanctions against Russia and solving the Kosovo puzzle. There is no doubt that Vulin has become uncomfortable for Serbian President Vucic, who wants to ensure a calm international environment for the upcoming elections in December.
Vulin is a welcome guest in Moscow
Vulin was a thorn in the side of Washington and Brussels with his scandalously demonstrated ties to Moscow and his hysterical tone of an eternal communist, who returned Serbia to the 20th century and the time of Milosevic. Now Vucic has said goodbye to his political satellite with a light hand, and probably from that moment Vulin will be an outsider who can expect an ambassadorial position in some non-European country in the world with the hope that if Vucic screws him there, then Russia will remember his merits. What is dangerous for Serbia is that, since Vučić has been in power, the so-called political henchmen who "do not interfere in their work" and their only goal is to please him. That's how Vulin passed through leading positions for Kosovo, the army, the police and the secret services. Appropriate personnel policy has been a trademark of Vučić for years, who is pulling the strings of Serbia's destiny. And surely this will continue for a long time, because the Serbian opposition still does not have the strength to unite and stop this tragic cycle in which the country finds itself.
The Serbian, and I would say to a large extent also the Balkan, political scene is never boring, it is full of unpredictable unexpected moves and political spontaneity of statesmen who play with international patience, tolerance and laws.
As if they naively believe that they are the main characters in an action movie without beginning and end, in which the collateral victims are their citizens. /BGNES
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Eli Yurukova, correspondent of BGNES in Belgrade.
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