Aleksandar Vucic will set back his bid to join the bloc should he attend Russia’s WWII victory celebration, Brussels has said
The European Commission (EC) has admitted that it will negatively impact Serbia’s EU bid if President Aleksandar Vucic visits Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations as planned on May 9.
Russia plans to host a military parade in the center of the capital to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s 1945 triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II. EU top diplomat Kaja Kallas warned earlier this month that the bloc does not want any member or candidate states attending the event.
EC Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos met with Vucic on Tuesday and warned that his presence in Moscow would be held against Serbia’s EU aspirations, spokesperson Guillaume Mercier said in a press briefing in Brussels on Wednesday.
“The participation of President Vucic at the military parade in Moscow will impact” Belgrade’s EU accession process, the EC spokesperson said.
“She passed on the message that was shared by many other EU member states that the participation in Moscow will have an impact on the EU path,” he said when asked about what the EU response could be, but declined to elaborate further.
As Belgrade is vying for membership in the bloc, Serbia should use the occasion to demonstrate its “strategic direction,” Mercier said.
Earlier this month, Vucic told the press that he had not changed his decision to visit Moscow for the May 9 celebration. A unit of the Serbian Armed Forces will take part in the Victory Day parade on Red Square, the president said.
During World War II, Serbia, then part of Yugoslavia, was occupied by the Nazis and was liberated by the Red Army in 1944.
Moscow has extended numerous invitations to the May 9 celebration, including to China, India, and Brazil, as well as other international leaders. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will miss the event due to highly elevated tensions with neighboring Pakistan, but Defense Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to represent New Delhi at the event.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has hailed the courage of European leaders who have chosen to attend and celebrate the memory of the fight against Nazism, despite pressure from Brussels.
