The news that the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić fell ill during his stay in the United States and that because of this he urgently ended the visit, it caused a small political earthquake in Belgrade.
The official version is: Vučić felt a strong pain in his chest accompanied by high pressure, due to which the visit ended abruptly. He returned to Belgrade, where he was admitted to the Military Medical Academy. His condition is stable, but he has been advised to rest, so all obligations in the coming days have been postponed, he writes. Deutsche says.
However, even before plane with the president and landed in Belgrade with a delegation, many questions arose in the public. What was the purpose of the trip anyway, was it an official or private visit, and did Vučić really get sick — or was it a failed diplomatic attempt?
State or personal initiative?
Minister of Finance Sinish Mali, who accompanied Vučić on his trip to Florida, stated that the visit had been prepared for a long time and that its goal was to solve economic problems.
However, the event where the Serbian leadership tried to "solve the country's problems" was a meeting of the Republican National Committee and a donor dinner hosted by the US president. Donald tramp. Vučić allegedly wanted to meet Trump informally on that occasion.
The long-time ambassador of Serbia to the USA, Ivan Vujacic, told DW that numerous normal diplomatic procedures were not followed in this case.
"It is not usual for state presidents to go to party meetings. It is usual for foreigners to be present at party conventions, but then an official invitation is sent through the State Department," Vujacic told DW.
Some sources claim that Vučić was even banned from entering the event in the Mar-a-Lago complex, despite the fact that he paid the entrance fee, and former diplomat Nebojša Vujović reported in the media that the decision was made by Trump's chief of staff.
"It seems to me that this visit was made through informal channels, some lobby groups, friends, acquaintances and bypassing official channels. Because if it is true that he expressed a desire to go to donor gatherings, someone would have drawn his attention to the fact that this is not possible under the law of the country he is visiting, in this case the United States," explains Ivan Vujačić.
Vuk Vuksanović from the Belgrade Center for Security Policy has a similar opinion. However, he does not rule out the possibility that the US administration has canceled friendship with the Vučić regime, which, he says, could be confirmed in the coming months.
"For now, it seems most likely that this was a failed improvisation. If it turns out that Vučić went there to secure a photo shoot with Trump without a scheduled meeting, it means that at the moment he is so wounded by the situation in Serbia that he is only looking for international leaders and events where he can promote himself as a world statesman with the hope of improving the image of the country a little", assesses Vuksanović in an interview with DW.
Avoiding going to Moscow?
Professor Vujacic believes that Vucic's intention was to meet with Trump first, and then travel to Victory parade to Moscow on May 9, to send a signal to the European Union that he doesn't care about their warnings and has other powerful friends in the world to turn to - such as Trump, Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.
However, considering that the American part of the plan failed, part of the public interpreted the news about the worsening health condition as an excuse to avoid now and going to Russia.
Reactions from the EU upon the very announcement of the visit to Moscow were extremely harsh. Union representatives warned that the presence of the Russian military parade could seriously threaten Serbia's European path.
"Going to Moscow and celebrating with Putin or his army that is killing people in Ukraine is so contrary to European values and it is very contrary to the decision of the EU Council, which decided in 2022 that member states should not take any step that could give legitimacy to Putin and Russia," said the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, during a recent visit to Serbia.
She once again reminded that Serbia, as a candidate for membership, must fully harmonize its foreign and security policy with the EU by the time of accession.
Vučić, however, claimed that he is not changing his position under pressure from Brussels.
"I said eight months ago that I would go to Moscow. I will probably be the only one who will go to Moscow. I don't want the Government of Đura Matsut to pay the price. I want him to have the opportunity to work with the EU properly and that no one can tell him anything. It is unlikely that the army will go, because it would be subject to various strikes and sanctions," said Vučić.
Diplomacy in the service of image
Whether Vučić will actually go to Moscow depends on a number of factors — including whether Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will attend the parade, according to Vuksanović.
In recent days, Fico repeatedly canceled announced public appearances, which caused speculation about his deteriorating health and called into question his previously announced trip to Moscow.
"Vučić's initial philosophy was that Washington and Moscow are more important to him than Brussels, but now he is trying to prevent him from losing the support of any major international actor, because he is politically wounded," Vuksanović believes.
He adds that at the moment there is nothing in Serbian diplomacy that is motivated by foreign policy logic, but foreign policy is in the service of improving the "political-marketing" image of Vučić as a leader.
But in tense international relations, his room for maneuver is getting narrower.
Source: Deutsche Welle
