No autocrat likes to see that somewhere the people seriously protest against election theft. Be it uneasy feelings. Thus, despite mass protests in Venezuela, the President of Serbia quickly congratulated his colleague Nicolas Maduro on his victory in the elections. Both Putin and Xi did it, because Venezuela belongs to the anti-Western bloc in terms of foreign policy
While Venezuela for days shaken by anti-regime protests opposition due to allegations of electoral fraud in the recently held presidential elections, the President of Serbia chose a side without hesitation. In the company of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, Aleksandar Vučić congratulated his colleague Nicolas Maduro on his victory.
"The European Union expects the candidate countries for membership to align with the EU's foreign policy," he said briefly for Radio Free Europe (RSE) Union spokesman Peter Stano.
Because Serbia has once again positioned itself on the opposite side in relation to the European Union and the United States, which express doubts about the official results of the election process in the Latin American country.
Political analyst Toby Vogel from the Brussels-based Council for Democratization Policy, assesses for RFE/RL that Vučić is "just continuing his policy of balancing between the West and the East" in this way.
"It's been profitable for him so far, so why would he change," Vogel says.
Who cares what Vucic thinks about Venezuela
On July 30, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić congratulated Nicolas Maduro on his victory in the presidential elections.
"The times in which we live are certainly not easy, and I wish you success in your professional efforts and challenges in leading the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela," stated Vučić's announcement, in which he also thanked Maduro for not recognizing Kosovo.
Maduro, who has been in power in Venezuela for more than a decade, declared victory in presidential elections held on July 28, but the opposition claims the election was stolen.
Along with Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping, Vučić is one of only a handful of world officials who have sent congratulations to Maduro.
Toby Vogel believes that the head of state of Serbia has not done anything, which he has not done so far.
"It's not about Venezuela as such, but about Vučić positioning himself on the side of those who resist Western 'imperialists' and the 'deep state' in the US that allegedly supports 'color revolutions' abroad," says Vogel.
According to his opinion, Vučić understands that every time he positions himself beyond the West on the international level, "Western leaders and diplomats will come to give him even more support" in an attempt to keep him in their camp, writes RSE.
"No one cares what Vucic has to say about Venezuela, but Washington and Brussels care about 'keeping' him in their camp because that is the basis of their entire policy towards him," Vogel says, and underlines: "As long as the US and the EU willing to play this game, he will continue to play it."
The State Department did not respond to RFE's request to comment on Vučić's congratulatory message to Maduro until the end of the text.
The EU does not recognize the results of the presidential elections in Venezuela
The head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, said on July 31 that the bloc of 27 EU member states will not recognize the results of the presidential elections in Venezuela, until the detailed results and minutes are published.
"We are asking for immediate access to the records from the polling stations." "Until they are published and verified, the results of the elections that have been declared cannot be recognized," said Borelj during his visit to Vietnam.
The day before, he said that he was following the situation in Venezuela after the presidential elections "with great concern" and recalled that the National Electoral Council of Venezuela (CNE) presented only the election results based on 80 percent of the votes counted, without the possibility of their verification, and on that basis declared Nicolas Maduro is the winner, according to RSE.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken expressed doubts about the accuracy of the results announced by the National Electoral Council. America is "concerned that the declared result does not reflect the will or the votes of Venezuelans," he said.
And the UK Foreign Office has called for "full, detailed results to be published to ensure they reflect the votes" of citizens.
Besides Vučić, who congratulated Maduro
Among the first to win the elections for Maduro is the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin.
"I want to confirm our readiness to continue constructive work together on key issues of the bilateral and international agenda." Remember that you are always a welcome guest in Russia," said the Kremlin's press release published on July 29.
A day later, Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated the current president of Venezuela on his re-election, and reiterated that China and Venezuela have friendly relations.
"China will, as always, firmly support Venezuela's efforts to protect national sovereignty, national dignity and social stability, and will firmly support Venezuela's just cause of opposing foreign interference," Xi said, as reported by China's state-run Xinhua news agency.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz Canel joined in the congratulations, saying that "the dignity and courage of the Venezuelan people triumphed over pressure and manipulation."
Protests, clashes with the police and mass arrests
Venezuela has been rocked by several days of protests, after the country's leader Nicolas Maduro declared another victory in the presidential election. The National Electoral Council announced that Maduro won with 51 percent of the vote ahead of opposition candidate Edmund Gonzalez, who, according to the data, won 44 percent.
However, the opposition coalition claims that its candidate Gonzalez won with as much as 70 percent of support, and that the government has not yet announced the detailed results of the vote, RSE writes.
The opposition says its representatives were able to review 73,2 percent of the votes and confirmed Gonzalez as the winner by a wide margin.
Protests by opposition demonstrators turned into clashes with the army and the police. As the BBC reports, on July 30, the fiercest clashes were recorded in the center of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.
Demonstrators burned tires and built barricades, while police officers on motorcycles sprayed them with tear gas. The police, army as well as paramilitary groups supporting the government clashed with the protesters and blocked many roads around the city center.
According to local officials, around 30 people were arrested by July 750. Two leading non-governmental organizations in the country say that several people have died and dozens have been injured, the BBC reports.
Nearly 7,8 million Venezuelans have fled the economic and political crisis that has rocked the country under the XNUMX-year rule of Nicolas Maduro.
Although it has the world's largest oil reserves, the population of this Latin American country is affected by poverty due to poor governance. The United Nations human rights chief said he was deeply concerned by the rising tension and violence.
Venezuela has been under US sanctions since 2006. However, in November 2022, the US Treasury Department issued a permit to the US oil company Chevron to continue pumping oil in Venezuela, after Nicolás Maduro returned to negotiations with the opposition.
Friendly relations between Serbia and Venezuela
Official Belgrade and Caracas maintain good relations, primarily due to Venezuela's position on Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008, which Belgrade does not recognize and considers it part of its territory. This position is supported by Venezuela.
In July 2023, Serbia and Venezuela signed an agreement on the abolition of visas, which was assessed as the first in a series of steps aimed at strengthening cooperation. The agreement was signed by the ministers of foreign affairs of the two countries, Ivica Dačić and Ivan Hil Pinto.
After the meeting in Belgrade, Dacic announced the opening of the Serbian embassy in Venezuela and said: "We managed to preserve our friendship in these difficult times for both Venezuela and Serbia, despite heavy pressures."
Source: Radio Free Europe
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