The Serbian president announced Tuesday that he will travel to Russia next May to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. But Aleksandar Vucic still expressed doubt.
“If the end of the world does not happen – I am not so sure, but I hope so – it will be a great honor for me to be on Red Square for the 80th anniversary of the liberation from fascism , as I was for the 75th anniversary,” said Aleksandar Vucic, who has not visited Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, exactly 1,000 days ago.
“May 9 (editor’s note: 2025) is still far away, but I thank President Putin for inviting me and I told him that, barring unforeseen circumstances, I will be happy to attend. I also spoke about it with the Slovak Prime Minister, Robert Fico, who will also be present,” added the Serbian president, whose country has never imposed sanctions on Russia.
Serbia, which has welcomed hundreds of thousands of Russians since February 2022, is almost completely dependent on Moscow for its gas supplies. But it is also a candidate to join the European Union (EU), where it carries out the majority of its trade. Thus, for almost three years, the Serbian authorities have been forced to perform a fragile balancing act between Brussels and Moscow.
The EU has often expressed concern about Belgrade’s ties with Moscow and has regularly called on Serbia to align its foreign and security policy with its own.
During a visit to Belgrade at the end of October, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, canceled a planned meeting with the Serbian Prime Minister, Milos Vucevic, who had just received a Russian minister.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday it wanted to make May 9, 2025 “the biggest holiday in its history”, in a context of exalting its patriotic and military values, in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine.
