Aleksandar Vucic will set again his bid to hitch the bloc ought to he attend Russia’s WWII victory celebration, Brussels has mentioned
The European Fee (EC) has admitted that it’ll negatively influence Serbia’s EU bid if President Aleksandar Vucic visits Moscow’s Victory Day celebrations as deliberate on Might 9.
Russia plans to host a army parade within the heart of the capital to mark the eightieth anniversary of the Soviet Union’s 1945 overcome Nazi Germany in World Warfare II. EU prime diplomat Kaja Kallas warned earlier this month that the bloc doesn’t need any member or candidate states attending the occasion.
EC Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos met with Vucic on Tuesday and warned that his presence in Moscow could be held in opposition to Serbia’s EU aspirations, spokesperson Guillaume Mercier mentioned in a press briefing in Brussels on Wednesday.
“The participation of President Vucic on the army parade in Moscow will influence” Belgrade’s EU accession course of, the EC spokesperson mentioned.
“She handed on the message that was shared by many different EU member states that the participation in Moscow will have an effect on the EU path,” he mentioned when requested about what the EU response might be, however declined to elaborate additional.
As Belgrade is vying for membership within the bloc, Serbia ought to use the event to display its “strategic course,” Mercier mentioned.
Earlier this month, Vucic instructed the press that he had not modified his determination to go to Moscow for the Might 9 celebration. A unit of the Serbian Armed Forces will participate within the Victory Day parade on Crimson Sq., the president mentioned.
Throughout World Warfare II, Serbia, then a part of Yugoslavia, was occupied by the Nazis and was liberated by the Crimson Military in 1944.
Moscow has prolonged quite a few invites to the Might 9 celebration, together with to China, India, and Brazil, in addition to different worldwide leaders. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will miss the occasion attributable to extremely elevated tensions with neighboring Pakistan, however Protection Minister Rajnath Singh is anticipated to characterize New Delhi on the occasion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has hailed the braveness of European leaders who’ve chosen to attend and rejoice the reminiscence of the combat in opposition to Nazism, regardless of strain from Brussels.
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