Dropcap the popularization of the “ideal measure” has led to advice such as “Increase font size for large screens and reduce font size for small screens.” While a good measure does improve the reading experience, it’s only one rule for good typography. Another rule is to maintain a comfortable font size.

Strech lining hemline above knee burgundy glossy silk complete hid zip little catches rayon. Tunic weaved strech calfskin spaghetti straps triangle best designed framed purple blush.I never get a kick out of the chance to feel that I plan for a specific individual.

Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia. It is a paradisematic country, in which roasted parts of sentences fly into your mouth.

A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is an almost unorthographic life One day however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas, wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind Text didn’t listen.

On her way she met a copy. The copy warned the Little Blind Text, that where it came from it would have been rewritten a thousand times and everything that was left from its origin would be the word “and” and the Little Blind Text should turn around and return to its own, safe country.

A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone, and feel the charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the bliss of souls like mine. I am so happy, my dear friend, so absorbed in the exquisite sense of mere tranquil existence, that I neglect my talents.

But nothing the copy said could convince her and so it didn’t take long until a few insidious Copy Writers ambushed her, made her drunk with Longe and Parole and dragged her into their agency, where they abused her for their projects again and again. And if she hasn’t been rewritten, then they are still using her.

A busy man keeps working while he waits. | Image: Unsplash

Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia.

A collection of textile samples lay spread out on the table – Samsa was a travelling salesman – and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and housed in a nice, gilded frame. It showed a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff that covered the whole of her lower arm towards the viewer.

Gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. Drops of rain could be heard hitting the pane, which made him feel quite sad. “How about if I sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense”, he thought, but that was something he was unable to do because he was used to sleeping on his right, and in his present state couldn’t get into that position. However hard he threw himself onto his right, he always rolled back to where he was.

The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.

One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. He lay on his armour-like back, and if he lifted his head a little he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections.

A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. Even the all-powerful Pointing has no control about the blind texts it is an almost unorthographic life One day however a small line of blind text by the name of Lorem Ipsum decided to leave for the far World of Grammar. The Big Oxmox advised her not to do so, because there were thousands of bad Commas, wild Question Marks and devious Semikoli, but the Little Blind Text didn’t listen.

His room, a proper human room although a little too small, lay peacefully between its four familiar walls. A collection of textile samples lay spread out on the table – Samsa was a travelling salesman – and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and housed in a nice, gilded frame.

It showed a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff that covered the whole of her lower arm towards the viewer. Gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. Drops of rain could be heard hitting the pane, which made him feel quite sad.

The European Union, in accordance with its promise to increase pressure on Moscow “until Ukraine is liberated”, adopted the tenth package of sanctions against Russia on Saturday, a day after the first anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine.

“We now have the most far-reaching sanctions ever, depleting Russia’s war arsenal and cutting deeply into that country’s economy,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter, adding that the European bloc had stepped up pressure on anyone trying to circumvent EU sanctions.

The EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security, Josep Borelj, warned that the EU will continue to impose additional sanctions on Moscow.

“We will continue to increase the pressure on Russia and we will work on it as long as necessary, until Ukraine is freed from brutal Russian aggression,” he said in a statement.

Borelj said that the latest sanctions are aimed at the banking sector, access to technology that can be used for civilian and military purposes, and advanced technology.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the new punitive measures as “strong new steps against the military, industry and financial sector of the terrorist state.”

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova stated that her inclusion in the list “violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and all other international legal acts concerning human rights”.

The new package of EU sanctions includes a ban on the export of electronic components used in Russian weapons systems, such as drones, missiles, helicopters, as well as specific “rare earth” materials, electronic integrated circuits and thermal cameras.

It will also impose stricter export restrictions on another 96 entities that support the Russian military and industrial complex, including for the first time seven Iranian entities that manufacture military drones used by Moscow.

Additional restrictions have been introduced on the import of goods that bring significant revenue to Russia, such as asphalt and synthetic rubber.

The EU imposed sanctions on 11 individuals and seven entities linked to the Wagner Group, whose mercenaries are fighting in Ukraine but are also involved in conflicts in African countries, such as Mali.

(Reuters)

Friday marks one year since attack of the Russian army on Ukraine. At the beginning, it seemed that Russia would end the attack in a few weeks by entering Kiev. One year later it can be said that the fortunes of war have alternated, and the end of the war is no longer in sight, just as there are no serious diplomatic negotiations. At the same time, Europe did not freeze without Russian energy sources, nor did the Russian economy succumb to sanctions.

Journalist and diplomat Dragan Bisenić says that it cannot be said that Russia and the United States of America are directly at war, but they are in an indirect conflict.

He indicated yes Biden’s visit to Kiev and Warsaw however, it was not sudden and unannounced. “It was already clear that when he came to Warsaw, he would go to Kiev and we were just discussing how,” says Bisenić.

“The amount that the USA gives is small, maybe that is a message to Moscow”

Bisenić noted that what is new, and what can be read symbolically, is the message that can be seen from the US aid of 500 million dollars.

“It is not a large sum. When the sultan goes to visit one of his vassals, if he is at war, he carries entire saddlebags of gold, but the sum of 500 million dollars for the American framework is not large,” Bisenić believes.

If that amount was a billion or more, he adds, it could be said that the message is – keep on fighting, and the amount of 500 million is actually in a way a cautious offer, which does not say that he will give them planes and everything they are looking for

“That was perhaps a certain message to Moscow that something could be discussed”, assesses Bisenić.

Is Russia’s suspension of START leading to nuclear war

When it comes to to the address of the President of Russia Vladimir Putinhistorian Aleksandar Životić indicates that it is not the same type of speech as in Warsaw, which lasted 15 or 20 minutes and was adapted to the situation.

“For me, the most important message is related to the START agreement and to the temporary Russian unilateral suspension of participation in that agreement,” says Životić.

It is, he explains, an agreement on the limitation of offensive nuclear weapons, which implies a limitation of the number of warheads to 1,550, to seven hundred intercontinental missiles and to 800 launchers.

Životić says that it is perhaps even more important that Russia temporarily withdraws from the agreement on the cessation of nuclear tests, but will renew it in the event that the United States of America does so first.

He explains that it is an exaggeration to say that leaving the agreement means that the conditions for nuclear war have been created. “If someone wants to start a nuclear war or react, it is not necessary to withdraw from the agreement. This is a political message,” Životić assesses.

The problem, he says, is the inspections, since both sides had the right to visit certain facilities of the other side, and Putin said that they did not want to allow the Americans to carry out a regular inspection in February.

According to Životić, the Russian president said that he did not want to participate in the “theatre of the absurd”.

Gas is “overpowered”, something else prevented the collapse of the Russian economy

Economist Goran Nikolić states that the Russian Bureau of Statistics announced that the drop in GDP was only 2.1 percent, and that the drop in industry was less than one percent, which is incomparably less than during the pandemic.

At the same time, adds Nikolić, gas is imported into the European Union four times less than before the war, which is a consequence of the warmest winter in history, savings, but also the collapse of the production of artificial fertilizers.

Russia has dramatically reduced gas exports, but had higher revenues because prices are higher, adds Nikolić, who believes that gas is overemphasized in the public eye.

“What is the basic thing for Russia, which prevented the collapse of the Russian economy, is that Russia managed to maintain the export of oil and oil derivatives, and even increased it in 2022,” says the economist.

It is also cited by the writing of the New York Times, according to which only nine percent of Western companies, including the largest and most visible brands, have withdrawn from Russia.

According to him, the stability of the industry is largely related to the growth of production for the army.

A war of attrition – has Putin just announced a platform for such a conflict

Nikolić believes that this can be a war of attrition and that Russia has an advantage here.

This is a war of attrition, Životić agrees, but notes that it is not only the relationship between Moscow and Kiev that can be looked at.

“The Great War has returned to the historical stage, it has returned to Europe. That is certainly the most important message,” says Životić and emphasizes the importance of strategic depth and strategic support.

“Russia has an independent strategic depth and as a superpower it relies on itself, but in this war Ukraine also got that strategic depth and reliance on the Western powers,” explains Životić.

Bisenić pointed out that Vladimir Putin’s speech represents a platform for a war of attrition.

“Putin is talking about things that cannot be implemented in three to six months, but are implemented for years, and in order to be implemented, war is needed as a catalyst, or what the high representative for foreign policy of the European Union said – Ukraine as a geopolitical the awakening of the European Union. So, this is a strong blow that Putin is trying to turn into an impulse for the development of Russian society,” assesses Bisenić.

Front without major changes – many resources in a small space

When it comes to the situation at the front, Životić assesses that the situation at the strategic level is more or less without major changes, regardless of the reports about the increased intensity of combat operations.

A large amount of resources is concentrated in a small area, and that, explains Životić, enables the Ukrainian forces to successfully defend themselves with a small number of forces.

“An open conversation with Josep Borelja and preparation for the continuation of the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina. Serbia is strongly opposed to the non-introduction of sanctions against the Russian Federation. The talks will continue soon,” said the President of Serbia on his Instagram profile, after the meeting held on the second day of the Munich Security Conference.

President Vučić briefly met with Borelja yesterday in Munich and then announced that he will meet with the head of EU diplomacy again today.

The Head of Diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borelj, stated, after the meeting with the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, that the EU’s proposal on the normalization of relations with Pristina, as well as harmonization with the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), are crucial for Serbia’s European path.

“I met with the President of Serbia at the Munich Security Conference, ahead of the high-level dialogue that I will be present at on February 27. We discussed the need to move forward on the proposal on the normalization of relations with Kosovo and the importance of Belgrade’s alignment with the CFSP. Both things are key on Serbia’s path to the EU,” Borelj wrote on Twitter.

He’s dragging himself met with United States Secretary of State Anthony Blinkenwith the President of France Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany Olaf Scholz.

On the second day of the Munich Security Conference, Vučić has a series of meetings.

The scandal has helped both countries to gain the kind of publicity they strived for without damaging their relationship.

With reports that the infamous private military company Wagner was attempting to recruit Serbian volunteers to fight for Russia in Ukraine, Serbia’s controversial relationship with Russia is once again making international headlines. The news sparked alarm in Western capitals, which pressured Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to put an immediate end to Wagner’s efforts.

Ostensibly, that pressure was successful. Vucic not only condemned Wagner’s activities, reiterating that mercenaries are illegal under Serbian law, but also publicly stated that Serbia does not support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and considers Crimea and Donbas part of Ukraine. Such an outcome is widely being viewed as Belgrade’s long-awaited attempt to start distancing itself from Moscow and its brutal war. But is it?

As is often the case in Serbia’s relations with Russia, the standoff between Belgrade and Wagner was more about PR stunts and media coverage than real developments on the ground. Both sides skillfully manipulated popular stereotypes about the affinity between Russia and Serbia to their own ends and achieved the desired effect.

It is difficult to determine who initiated the whole story, but the media storm started to gather back in December 2022, when two right-wing Serbian activists visited the newly inaugurated Wagner headquarters in St. Petersburg. They represented tiny fringe groups consisting of just a few members, but the visit was apparently part of a propaganda campaign orchestrated by Wagner’s owner, the shady businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin.

He has always been keen to demonstrate that Wagner is capable of doing more than just fighting, and that it can also further Russia’s interests around the globe by other means if the Kremlin provides it with more powers and resources. The reception of two Serbs in St. Petersburg was publicized by media outlets also owned by Prigozhin with the aim of making the Russian leadership take notice of his efforts and growing international outreach.

The resulting publicity surpassed all expectations. Given Wagner’s international notoriety, a number of media misinterpreted the visit as a sign that Prigozhin was opening an office in Serbia to recruit volunteers to fight against Ukraine. The misinterpretation fitted the stereotype of Russian-Serbian brotherhood in arms so well that it persists to this day, despite having been refuted on numerous occasions. It was further bolstered in January by a few minor episodes that acquired disproportionate significance in the already charged atmosphere.

In early January, the Serbian version of the Russian propaganda mouthpiece RT ran an article openly promoting Wagner as an attractive employer. The text did not address Serbs directly and was soon rescinded, but still made waves. It was followed by news of several Serbian volunteers already training to fight in Ukraine, while on January 14 a mural celebrating Wagner appeared in Belgrade. It was painted over on the next day, but enough Wagner-related noise had built up in Serbia in the preceding weeks to secure the company’s activities a spot on the agenda of Vucic’s talks with Western diplomats.

The Serbian president appeared eager to react. He publicly reproached Russia for abusing his goodwill, and emphasized that Wagner was not welcome in Serbia, since the country had outlawed mercenary fighting. Dispelling any remaining doubts, Vucic stated that Belgrade does not support Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine and will not recognize Crimea, Donbas, or the other newly annexed Ukrainian territories as part of Russia. The strong statements of the Serbian leader were welcomed in the West and earned him favorable coverage in international media.

We should not, however, exaggerate either the courage required for Vucic to take such steps, or the impact they will have on Serbia’s relations with Russia. There is no evidence that Wagner was manually targeting Serbs in his recruitment campaign, never mind establishing an office in the country. Given the ease with which Prigozhin has been recruiting Russian convicts into his private army, which is currently estimated to number 50,000 fighters, it makes little military sense for Wagner to invest in recruitment efforts in Serbia for the sake of a few dozen volunteers.

Causing a media stir appears to have been Prigozhin’s priority from the very beginning, and far from the Serbian leadership preventing him in that aim, it actually assisted him. Leading world media ran the story about Wagner expanding to the Balkans, allowing the businessman to show the Kremlin that his nimble company can bolster Russia’s international clout more efficiently than the bloated and corrupt state apparatus. Commenting on the scandal, Prigozhin refrained from his usual harsh language, instead respectfully stating that he holds no grudge against the Serbs, who are able to manage on their own.

The Kremlin is also unlikely to take offense at Vucic’s statements, since there is nothing new in them. Serbia prohibited its nationals from volunteering to fight in foreign conflicts back in 2015, reacting to reports about Serbian citizens fighting in Syria and Ukraine’s Donbas region. Since then, several dozen Serbs have been sentenced under that law, prompting no reaction from Russia. Why, then, would it be nettled by Vucic now, when he is simply maintaining the status quo?

The same is true of Vucic’s statements that Serbia respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine. This has been Belgrade’s official stance since Russia’s war with Georgia in 2008, repeatedly reiterated since the annexation of Crimea in 2014. Moscow is well aware of this position and has never objected to it, understanding that Serbia cannot afford to waver over the principle of territorial integrity in its ongoing attempts to prevent full recognition of its breakaway province of Kosovo.

Nor is Russia troubled by Vucic taking advantage of the scandal to portray himself to the West as a constructive pro-Western leader regrettably constrained by an unholy alliance between the Kremlin and Serbian right-wing radicals. Moscow understands perfectly that cooked-up “concessions” such as closing down the nonexistent Wagner office in Serbia help Vucic to evade Western pressure on more substantial issues, such as energy cooperation with Russia, joining in with anti-Russian sanctions, or recognition of Kosovo . Similar scandals in the past, when Vucic accused Moscow of stoking anti-Covid protests in 2020 or bribing a Serbian official in 2019, left no trace on the two countries’ relations.

There is no indication that the outcome of the Wagner row will be any different. There will be no arrests or crackdowns on pro-Russian groups in Serbia. On the contrary, the scandal has demonstrated how firmly they remain under Vucic’s thumb. RT Balkan swiftly responded to the publication that had evoked the authorities’ ire, while the creators of the Wagner mural have made no attempts to replicate it since the first one was painted over. The pro-government tabloids will not tone down their rabid pro-Russian narratives: in any case, they gave only cursory attention to the Wagner story, which targeted Western audiences, not domestic ones.

The scandal has helped both countries to gain the kind of publicity they strived for without damaging their relations. Russia and Serbia will continue to utilize their cooperation for various propaganda purposes. Their readiness to treat each other’s needs with tolerance and understanding, along with their ability to prioritize issues of substance over PR stunts, are precisely what make this relationship so resilient.

Maxim Samorukov is currently a visiting fellow at the Belgrade Center for Security Policy (BCSP) and a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. This article is also published with Carnegie Politika and with the weekly newspaper NiN (in Serbian).

By:

Russia’s Balkan ally Serbia is facing mounting Western pressure to normalize relations with its former province, Kosovo, and warnings of any rejection of a proposed European Union reconciliation agreement could jeopardize Belgrade’s path toward European Union membership.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is set to initiate a public campaign on the merits of reconciliation with Kosovo. European Union (EU) and US diplomats have applied pressure of late, issuing warnings that Belgrade must accept the plan advanced by the EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue to normalize relations with Kosovo.

The EU sponsored plan, first reported by Serbian media, does not require Serbia to fully recognize Kosovo as an independent nation. Instead, Serbia must stop blocking Kosovo’s membership in international organizations such as the Council of Europe or NATO. Serbia’s continued intransigence would threaten Serbia’s hopes of joining the EU and receiving greater amounts of Western investment.

SERBIA DEPLOYS TROOPS FOR ‘COMBAT READINESS’ ON KOSOVO BORDER

NATO peace-keeping mission KFOR marks the 20th anniversary of their formation during a ceremony in Pristina, Kosovo, June 11, 2019.

“The EU proposal was submitted to the parties as a basis to work on in order to achieve progress in moving the dialogue on normalization of their relations forward and get us from the permanent crisis management as we have seen since last summer with incidents, escalations and confrontations , to a more sustainable process of normalization,” Peter Stano, lead spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy at the European Commission, told Fox News Digital.

However, the EU proposal has not been made public since the diplomatic efforts are ongoing, and its longstanding policy not to comment on alleged leaks or media reports claiming to have seen or published the document, Spano added.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The US is fully on board with the EU proposal. “The proposal offers tremendous opportunities for Kosovo and Serbia on their EU paths and economic development. During recent meetings in Pristina and Belgrade, we reiterated the urgency of swift progress to avoid the risk of further escalation and to raise the dialogue above the cycle of constant crises,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Story continues

Tensions have risen along the border between Kosovo and Serbia as NATO’s KFOR peacekeeping mission remains a buffer between the two states. october 2, 2021.

Despite the positive news, Western officials fear that Russia, preoccupied with the invasion of Ukraine, may use the opportunity to scuttle any plan and meddle in a region where Moscow exerts significant cultural and political sway. Russia wields its soft power in support of its Slavic and Orthodox Christian allies in Serbia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to keep the Balkan region divided and prevent it from comfortably integrating into institutions such as NATO and the EU. Moscow supports anti-Western and often corrupt officials in Serbia and across the Balkans who disrupt the good governance measures that need to be implemented in order to join the EU. From Putin’s perspective, causing trouble in the Balkans is an easy and cheap way to drive a wedge in Europe.

SERBIA: RED CARPET WELCOME FOR RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN DESPITE WESTERN CRITICISM

At its disposal, Russia utilizes its energy resources and extensive intelligence networks in the region to push propaganda, conduct cyber espionage and fund sympathetic political parties. Belgrade also imports nearly a quarter of its oil from Russia and signed a three-year gas deal with Russia, floating Europe’s pivot away from Russian energy.

Although the EU is Serbia’s largest donor, Russia uses its influence to curry favor with like-minded political actors, media figures and citizens in Serbia to promote its anti-Western and anti-US worldview in a vulnerable corner of Europe. Serbian society is also partially receptive to Russian narratives particularly on Ukraine. A poll conducted across the territory of the former Yugoslavia shortly after the invasion on Feb. 24 showed that a majority of Serbs blamed the US and NATO for the war and not Russia.

“This support is, at least in part, caused by Russia’s attitude towards Kosovo, but also by the general disappointment in the West – illustrated by a decreasing amount of people who believe that Serbia should join the EU,” Helena Ivanov, associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.

While Europe has shown remarkable unity in both rhetorical and material support of Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, Serbia has been a bit of a thorn in European solidarity and even increased cooperation with Russia. Moscow and Belgrade signed an agreement in October 2022 to consult on foreign policy matters. Aligning national foreign policy with EU foreign policy is a requirement for membership, so the agreement with Russia could prove highly problematic for Serbia’s EU membership aspirations.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has been in power for a decade and is often viewed as one of the more pro-Russian leaders in Europe.

ANONYMOUS CLAIMS SERBIA IS ‘PUTIN’S PUPPET,’ RUSSIA LOOKS TO EXPAND WAR IN EUROPE AND ‘DISTRACT THE WEST’

The European Union and NATO would like to see a resolution to the conflict, but President Vucic is an enigmatic figure who likes to play both sides of the divide. While Serbia is an EU aspirant, Vucic regularly talks up Serbia’s ties to Russia and his personal connection with Putin for domestic political purposes. Like Putin, Vucic often invokes the trauma of the 1990s to reinforce a grievance narrative that Serbia was a victim of western overreach.

Russia’s war in Ukraine, while solidifying European unity not seen since the days of the Cold War, has upended Vucic’s pragmatic attempt to play off both sides. Serbia joined UN resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the referendums annexing territory in the eastern Donbas region, and voted to boot Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.

Although Vucic has shifted against Russia in some ways, Serbia is still one of the few nations that was reluctant to join sanctions targeting Russia following the invasion. Additionally, while almost all nations in Europe shut their airspace to Russian flights, Serbia has kept their airspace open. Further compounding the balancing act Vucic finds himself in, the Serbian military trains with both NATO and Russia.

“Thus far, President Vucic has successfully maintained this balancing act, however, the space for this balancing act continues to narrow down as EU and US representatives keep pressing Serbia to align itself with the West,” Ivanov said.

The territorial dispute between Serbia and Kosovo following the 1999 war is unresolved and is a roadblock to further European integration. Kosovo was a former province of Serbia and was once integrated within the nation of Yugoslavia. NATO led a bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999, which included Serbia and Montenegro, to defend Kosovo’s ethnic Albanians against violence from Belgrade. Nearly a decade later, Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and Serbia thus far refuses to recognize their independence.

RUSSIAN INFLUENCE RISING IN BALKANS, BALTICS, CENTRAL EUROPE

NATO’s intervention, which Russia opposed at the time, remains a bitter point of contention with the West and is often used by Putin to justify their paranoia about NATO encroachment into historic Russian territory. The lingering resentment over what Russia perceived as a flagrant violation of international law by NATO and the refusal to acknowledge Russia’s interests continues to play a major role in the narrative over the war in Ukraine.

“In Serbia, where officials frequently play the victim card, Russia is therefore portrayed as righteous as it was on the side of the victims rather than what they perceive as NATO ‘perpetrators.’ As such, the anti-NATO card resonates with many Serbs throughout the region, from Serbia to Bosnia and Herzegovina”, Leon Hartwell, non-resident senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, told Fox News Digital.

The EU is often criticized for not taking a harder stance against Serbia and its both-sides posture toward Russia. However, observers note that the EU’s recent pressure campaign might finally lead to Serbia changing its behavior and moving closer toward the West.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić signaled for the first time that Belgrade could reverse its course and finally impose sanctions on Russia, which is one of the EU’s key demands for Serbia to make progress in EU membership talks.

This was reported by Euractiv, according to Ukrinform.

“We condemn the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and that is how we voted in international bodies. Whether we will impose sanctions on Russia is another matter. It’s not a matter of time or deadlines, it’s a matter that concerns our political and economic interests,” he said.

Dačić noted that, since the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 and until now, Serbia has not joined the Western sanctions against Moscow, as Belgrade assessed that it would not be in the interests of the Balkan state.

Read also: Russian space intelligence collapses due to sanctions – GUR

“If something changes to the detriment of Serbia’s interests, then our decision will be adjusted accordingly because we shall assess at every moment what is the best decision for our economy, for our standing in the world, and for the citizens of Serbia,” the minister said.

In another sign that Serbia’s narrative on Russia, considered a traditional Serbian ally, may be changing, the country’s Prime Minister Ana Brnabić, who attended the opening of the EURACTIV Serbia office in Belgrade Wednesday night, said spoke of the “Russian aggression against Ukraine” , a wording Serbia had not previously used.

As reported by Ukrinform, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić called out as a “lie” international media references to himself as Putin’s puppet, emphasizing that Crimea and Donbas belong to Ukraine.

Kosovan Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla said on Tuesday Serbia, under the influence of Russia, was aiming to destabilize Kosovo by supporting the Serb minority in the north who have been blocking roads and protesting for almost three weeks.

Serbs in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo erected new barricades on Tuesday, hours after Serbia said it had put its army on the highest combat alert following weeks of escalating tensions between Belgrade and Pristina.

“It is precisely Serbia, influenced by Russia, that has raised a state of military readiness and that is ordering the erection of new barricades, in order to justify and protect the criminal groups that terrorize… citizens of Serb ethnicity living in Kosovo, Svecla said in a statement.

Also read | Kosovo tensions: Serbian troops on ‘highest’ alert over recent shootings

Serbia denies it is trying to destabilize its neighbor and says it just wants to protect its minority there. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday that Serbia would “continue to fight for peace and seek compromise solutions.”

Belgrade had said late on Monday that in light of the latest events in the region and its belief that Kosovo was preparing to attack Serbs and forcefully remove the barricades, it had ordered its army and police to be put on the highest alert.

Since Dec 10, Serbs in northern Kosovo have erected multiple roadblocks in and around Mitrovica and exchanged fire with police after the arrest of a former Serb policeman for allegedly assaulting serving police officers.

Also read | Serbia country bans visa-free entry to Indians from next year

Albanian-majority Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 with the backing of the West, following a 1998–1999 war in which NATO intervened to protect ethnic Albanian citizens.

Kosovo is not a member of the United Nations and five EU states – Spain, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus – refuse to recognize Kosovo’s statehood.

Russia, Serbia’s historically, is blocking Kosovo’s membership in the United Nations.

Around 50,000 Serbs live in the northern part of Kosovo and refuse to recognize the Pristina government or the state. They see Belgrade as their capital.

Kosovo’s government said police had the capacity and readiness to act but were waiting for NATO’s KFOR, the Kosovo peace-keeping force, to respond to their request to remove the barricades.

Vucic said talks with foreign diplomats were ongoing on how to resolve the situation.

In Mitrovica on Tuesday morning trucks were parked to block the road linking the Serb-majority part of the town to the Albanian-majority part.

The Serbs are demanding the release of the arrested officer and have other demands before they will remove the barricades.

Ethnic Serb mayors in northern Kosovan municipalities, along with local judges and some 600 police officers resigned last month in protest over a Kosovo government decision to replace Serbian-issued car license plates with ones issued by Pristina.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led European Union states to devote more energy to improving relations with the six Balkan countries of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, despite continuing reluctance to enlarge the EU further.

Serbia maintains a long-standing and historic relationship with Russia, with Belgrade often facing criticism for leaning too much toward Moscow.

The reaction to the Wagner video however has demonstrated that ties between Serbia and Russia have grown increasingly complex following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

President Vucic has acknowledged Serbia’s position regarding the war as “neutral” but has acknowledged a rift with Putin.

He claims to have not spoken with the Russian leader for “many months”.

Serb nationals are banned by law from joining in foreign conflicts as combatants.

Some two dozen people have been charged by courts in Serbia for “fighting on foreign battlefronts”.

It comes as a provocative mural depicting Wagner death’s head emblem appeared on a city-centre wall in Belgrade last week.

The mural was signed by the People’s Patrols, an extreme right-wing organization that has previously staged pro-Russia rallies which were poorly attended.

It has been reported that Wagner, a Russian private military company, has been recruiting former prisoners to fight in Ukraine.

According to the Washington Post, the United States estimates that Wagner has a total of 50,000 troops in Ukraine, with 40,000 of them being convicts recruited from prisons.

Other sources also indicate this recruitment of convicts, for instance, one Russian magazine has reported that Wagner is recruiting convicts from inside St Petersburg prisons, promising them 200,000 rubles (£2,400) for six months and freedom if they survive the conflict.

Moreover, Wagner has also tried to recruit inmates from prisons in the Central African Republic.

DON’T MISS:

Ukraine’s NATO membership is ‘appropriate outcome’ [REVEAL]
Zelensky’s aide quits over claim ‘deflected’ missile hit Dnipro flats [INSIGHT]
Ukraine MP warns Putin could start ‘new offensive’ or seize east [ANALYSIS]

The Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin is known as “Vladimir Putin’s chef” due to his ties to the Kremlin and food catering business empire.

This week a former employee revealed to a magazine in France how kitchen staff who fell foul of Prigozhin ended up receiving brutal beatings.

The 40-year-old who used to work at Prigozhin’s Concord Catering told Society how “the chef was taken to the cellar and beaten to the point of being hospitalized for two months” after a customer complained about a dish over the quality of the tomatoes.

On other occasions, the unnamed ex-employee recalled those workers accused of stealing food being “taken to a forest and beaten”.

BELGRADE (Reuters) – Russia should halt its efforts to recruit Serbs to fight alongside its Wagner paramilitary group in Ukraine, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.

Vucic criticized Russia’s websites and social media groups for publishing advertisements in the Serbian language in which the Wagner group calls volunteers to join its ranks.

“Why do you, from Wagner, call anyone from Serbia when you know that it is against our regulations?” Vucic said late on Monday in a broadcast by the Belgrade-based Happy TV.

Serb volunteers took part in the fighting alongside pro-Russian forces in Ukraine in 2014 and 2015. No one has a clear idea of ​​exact numbers at any one time but dozens of Serbs have signed up to fight in Ukraine since 2014, observers say.

The Serbian legislature bans participation of its citizens in conflicts abroad and several people have been sentenced for doing so.

Vucic denied allegations that the Wagner group, led by Evgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has a presence in Serbia where pro-Kremlin and ultranationalist organizations have supported the invasion of Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Russia’s RIA news agency aired TV footage of two masked men identifying them as Serb volunteers at a weapons training course in Russian-controlled parts of the Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine.

Serbia is a candidate to join the European Union, its main trade partner and investor, but it also maintains trade and military cooperation with Russia, a traditional Slavic and Orthodox Christian ally.

Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic also warned Serbs against joining Russian ranks in the war against Ukraine.

“This will result in legal consequences once they are able to be held responsible before the state bodies,” Vucevic told Radio Free Europe.

Although it repeatedly condemned Russia’s invasion against Ukraine at the United Nations and several other international forums, Belgrade has also refused to impose sanctions against Moscow.

Serbia is entirely dependent on gas imports from Russia and its NIS oil retailer is owned by Russia’s Gazprom.

(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Nick Macfie)