It's funny when some gullible people in the West believe that Russia wants to oust Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and that Moscow is behind the protests in Serbia against lithium mining.
This is exactly what Serbian intelligence wants you to believe. I remember when a few years ago Russian propaganda accused Russia's "deep state" of trying to overthrow the government. He was in the middle of negotiations with the US.
Russia is perfectly happy with Vucic, as he fears Putin and dances to Moscow's tune, working strategically in Russia's favor.
But Vučić also leaves some carrots to the West (arms delivery, voting on UN General Assembly resolutions, photos with Zelenski's wife and some irrelevant international conferences...).
The US ambassador (to Serbia), Olaf Scholz or Emmanuel Macron can declare some kind of victory and report back home that the Serbian government wants the West, which is ridiculous.
As for this lithium play, just look at what happened a few years ago and it will happen again. Vucic needs internal chaos to survive and the protests are perfect for him, giving him more leverage to blackmail the West. He strengthened the far-right groups so that he could say to the West "You see...every alternative is worse than me, so you have no other option".
The West thinks tactically and Moscow thinks strategically and it is very sad how Putin humiliates the West in the Balkans. This fall is going to be interesting. | BGNES
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Ivana Stradner, security expert and researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
