"Washington and some EU countries consider Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic a factor of stability in the Balkans. But in fact he is destabilising the region... he has learned from his mentor Slobodan Milosevic".
This was stated by Ivana Stradner, a researcher at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a BGNES reporter reported.
Serbian intelligence works in several directions:
1. To convince some figures in the West that Vucic is only interested in money and the economy is the key.
2. To convey the message, "forget about the 1990s and think about future cooperation," which is music to Western ears.
3. To destroy the pro-Western opposition and give a boost to far-right groups so that Vucic looks like a "moderate leader" in the eyes of the West (just like Putin did as soon as he came to power).
Deceit is of huge importance to Serbian security doctrine and Vucic has learned how to speak to the West. They (the Serbs) also like to use people with big egos in the West and treat them like useful idiots.
Unfortunately many politicians in the West do not understand Belgrade. Some (like the UK) do understand it, but can't do much about it as they don't have the carrot or the stick. They also have no idea what to do with Vucic as there is no opposition.
With the Russian war against Ukraine, the threat from China, the chaos in the Middle East, I am not surprised that very few people are paying attention to what is happening in the Balkans. Even in the early 1990s, when we had a unipolar world, the West was late and for a long time did not engage with the issue.
Many politicians in the West do not understand the ideology, culture and identity politics of the Balkans and think that money is all that matters. Wait until May 5, when Vucic, Milorad Dodik and the Orthodox Church will announce the "Serbian World". Western politicians will probably say, "Don't worry, it's just nationalism for domestic use. Vucic is our man and we can control Dodik".
This article is a very good summary of how in the 1990s the West treated Milosevic as an indispensable figure in resolving the conflicts raging in Yugoslavia.
Appeasement never works. /BGNES
