BELGRADE – Russia is playing on Serbia’s mistaken belief that it is still a key player in the power dynamic with the West to draw the country’s focus away from joining the EU and NATO, US diplomats have concluded. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will emphasise the bonds linking the two Orthodox Christian nations during a visit to Serbia on Wednesday, the eve of the 12th anniversary of the NATO bombing over Belgrade’s policy towards Kosovo.
US cables two years ago highlight concern about Russian diplomacy in the region around the same anniversary. The “nostalgia for being courted by both Russia and the West remains a part of Serbia’s yearning for self-importance and leads to a mistaken belief that it can chart an independent path while still committing to EU membership as a strategic objective,” an embassy official wrote in May 2009.
Another embassy official was even more pointed in a confidential July 2009 cable: “Serbia continues to believe it has a bridging role to play between Russia and the EU, which is widely scoffed at in European circles.”
