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By canceling its participation in military exercises with Belarus and Russia, Serbia also transferred its orientation to the West to the military field. Analysts recall that it is part of harmonizing foreign policy with the EU, which practically means getting closer to the West, but there are also those who see it as a Belgrade tactic.
The decision to change the plans for the military exercises was taken by the Government in the session two days ago, and the Ministry of Defense clarified that it refers to all partners.
Before that, Belarus announced that the military exercise “Slavic Brotherhood 2020”, in which the armed forces of Russia, Belarus and Serbia are participating, would be held on its territory in September. It was explained that the exercise to be commanded by the Belarusian Armed Forces will take place in the training ground of the city of Brest, that the arrival of the participants began yesterday and ends on September 15.
Although this is not the first time that Serbia has been among the participants, the foreign policy situation and the attitude of the West and the EU towards Belarus is different this year and has changed after the recent elections. Most of Europe considers them undemocratic and criticizes the attitude towards the opposition.
The declaration was the first sign
Before that, Serbia acceded to the EU Declaration on Belarus in the framework of synchronization with the EU’s foreign policy. This is a declaration adopted by the EU on August 11, which states that the citizens of Belarus “showed a desire for democratic change” during the election campaign, but that “the elections were neither free nor fair”.
Now Serbia has suspended military exercises with Belarus, and former Defense Minister and current Chairman of the Council for Strategic Policies, Dragan Sutanovac, is considering that decision with approval.
– For more than a decade, the Serbian army has been operating according to the world’s best military standard, and that is the NATO standard. At the same time, bearing in mind that the UN forces deployed in peacekeeping missions around the world operate according to that standard. It is logical that our units that participate in these operations are previously trained and increase interoperability in the NATO standard. Although the Ministry of Defense knows this very well, recently there has been an expansion of military exercises with eastern partners (Russia, Belarus …) that are not in the NATO standard and in which our army participates mainly due to the Political need to show how Serbia can support itself militarily in the East, and at the same time that Minister Vulin takes pictures with the ministers of those countries – Sutanovac believes.
Alignment with EU foreign policy
According to him, the decision to cancel the military exercises in Belarus is part of the harmonization with the EU’s foreign policy towards this country.
– This time, in addition to the fact that the army does not benefit from these exercises, we would enter into an obvious conflict with the EU and for the first time we decided to harmonize the part of foreign policy that refers to Belarus. I think that the decision to withdraw our army is a good decision, but I think it is much more convenient for both the army and Serbia to plan exercises with armies operating according to the same standard as the Serbian army and to harmonize decisions on participation with foreign policy. EU: take note of Sutanovac.
Igor Novakovic, director of research at the Center for International and Security Affairs, agrees with him, but leaves room for “tactics.”
– It can be seen as a change in foreign policy, but right now I see it as a tactical move, and avoiding criticism that could come from the EU. What I see as an opportunity is for Serbia to shift its responsibility towards everyone, believes Novakovic.
A turn after Washington and Brussels
Sutanovac adds that this is a sign of the direction of Serbian foreign policy.
– There is the impression that Serbia, after the agreement in the US and the talks in Brussels, changed its foreign policy in a certain way, and this decision, in addition to joining the EU declaration on Belarus, may be a small confirmation of that assumption, which is certainly good considering that Serbia defined its strategic interest through future EU membership – Sutanovac notes.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borel, said that this is something that is expected of Serbia.
“The European Commission is aware of the close ties between Serbia and the Russian Federation, but Serbia is expected to act in accordance with its strategic objective of EU membership and the obligations arising from the accession process,” Borel said.
Responding to questions from two MEPs from the group of European Conservatives and Reformists about third-country interference in events in the Western Balkans, and especially Russia in Serbia, he said that Serbia should gradually harmonize with the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU before joining the Union.
– This issue is raised regularly with Serbia, in informal meetings of the political dialogue and other meetings within the Stabilization and Association Process – said Borel.
Union Message
The spokeswoman for the European Commission, Ana Pisonero, also sent a clear message, regarding the information about the withdrawal of Serbia from the planned military exercises with Belarus.
– Serbia has clearly marked EU integration as a strategic priority for the country and must react in accordance with its obligations towards the EU. It is clear that according to the negotiating framework of the EU accession talks, Serbia is expected to gradually harmonize its policy towards third countries with the policy and position of the EU, Pisonero said, welcoming the accession. from Serbia to the recent Declaration.
And it is in that EU that they view current events in Belarus with great disapproval.
President Alexander Lukashenko, whom many call “the last dictator of Europe”, has ruled Belarus for 26 years and has so far retained power in recent presidential elections, for which he has been accused of manipulating inside and outside the country.
Protests in Belarus
Official institutions there announced that she received 80.23 percent of the votes, and opposition candidate Svetlana Tikhanovskaya 9.9 percent of the votes. Tikhanovskaya (37), a former English teacher, joined the electoral race after her husband, a popular blogger who announced his candidacy for the head of state, was arrested in May.
She abruptly left the country for Lithuania, hours after she publicly challenged the election results and submitted a formal request for the votes to be counted.
The citizens of Belarus do not accept the results of these elections, which they believe were stolen, which is why they have been massively protesting for days on the streets of Belarus as part of the “March for Freedom”.
Police in riot gear stormed a rally on Friday, taking hundreds of protesters away by truck. The protests continue, several people died and several dozen were injured, detained and later brutally beaten in prison. In the first four days of the protest alone, 6,700 people were arrested.
Despite numerous criticisms, Lukashenko declared victory and accused the opposition of an anti-state policy and began to persecute political opponents, and has no intention of handing over power. He accused the West of interfering in the internal affairs of the country.
Serbian military exercises in 2019: with NATO 13, with Russia 4
Serbia has been participating in the Russian-Belarusian “Slavic Brotherhood” joint military exercises since 2015, and has hosted them twice so far, in 2016 and 2019.
In 2019, it conducted 17 military exercises with other countries, of which 13 exercises were with NATO and partners, and four military exercises with Russia.
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