It does not make sense that the West is strengthening Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who maintains relations between Belgrade and Moscow, former US ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker said today.
Volker, the former special envoy for Ukraine, told Radio Free Europe that Vučić is trying to make Serbia "Russia in the Balkans" while trying to maintain "certain freedom of maneuver and independence with moves like buying French 'rifles'".
Therefore, he said, to make Serbia "a dominant country in the Western Balkans that plays the card of the Serbian minority in other countries, relying to a large extent on Russia, its energy suppliers, and the Russian Orthodox Church."
Volker said that the sale of grenades from Serbia to Ukraine is not only a business deal, but also part of Belgrade's efforts to play on both sides.
"It seems that we are more engaged around Vučić while we are losing Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia. Bulgaria is in a terrible state. You know, there is an expression in the US that we spend more time on enemies than on friends," he said.
Volker indicated that if Russian President Vladimir Putin succeeds in Ukraine and the West backs down or loses, the world is headed for global war because it will encourage China, Iran and Venezuela to think they can achieve their ambitions.
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