Germans are calling upon to "break" Serbia

Three German media outlets wrote nearly simultaneously about Western Balkans, the alleged failed strategy of the US and EU, and the "Serbian domination".

Germans are calling upon to "break" Serbia

Three German media outlets wrote nearly simultaneously about Western Balkans, the alleged failed strategy of the US and EU, and the "Serbian domination".

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EPA-EFE/CLEMENS BILAN

One measure could be the "cutting off of financial taps" that few states in the Western Balkans can withstand for more than a few weeks, analysts say.

"Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" claims that "Russia in Europe can rely on three allies." In the EU member state Hungary, in Serbia, a candidate country, and in half of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the control of Bosnian Serbs, the rulers are firmly loyal to Putin, albeit with varying degrees, writes the author Michael Martens in the article.

"President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić is not as openly pro-Russian as Dodik. Serbia even supported the UN General Assembly resolution against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On the other hand, Belgrade has not joined European sanctions against Russia and supports it wherever it can," Martens wrote.

The Berlin-based "Tages Zeitung," in an article by the author Erich Rathfelder, writes that "the EU and the US want to win over Serbian nationalists with a policy of understanding, which is a dangerous course."

Finally, the "Berliner Zeitung" publishes a text by guest author Muamer Bećirović, titled "Serbia's Domination Must Be Broken." Bećirović believes that this can only be done by Germany, invoking it to play the role of Austria-Hungary in the Western Balkans before World War I.

"The only country that could bring order to the Balkans and ensure its own strategic interests in the region is Germany. It is by far the most important trading partner for Croatia, Bosnia, and Serbia, and it is geographically only a few hundred kilometers away," Bećirović evaluates.

In response to these media reports, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić expressed his gratitude to CNN and "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" for "promoting him almost every day." He stated that what is much more important to him is "the rehabilitation of the road in the village of Ćetanje, Priboj municipality."

Srećko Đukić, a diplomat, highlights for "Blic" that it's symptomatic that certain German and American media outlets are increasingly focusing on the situation in the Western Balkans.

"German media was also discussing our region, as did CNN, The Washington Post, and The New York Post, so we had letters from Members of the European Parliament calling for a stronger Western role in the Western Balkans. Clearly, there is dissatisfaction with the policy towards the entire region, as well as towards Serbia," Đukić evaluates.

Đukić says that the soft policy of the US and the EU towards Belgrade and the Western Balkans has clearly not borne fruit and that there is dissatisfaction because of it.

Đukić explains that the international community is now trying to restart relations between Belgrade and Pristina and return to the state after the Ohrid Agreement.

"Everything points to the fact that the West will adopt a tougher policy towards Belgrade and will no longer rely on promises. I think that in September, the EU and the US will inaugurate a new agenda for the Western Balkans. In addition to Berlin and London, who are traditionally present in this region, Washington will also play a leading role, without which nothing can succeed," expects Đukić.