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By:
The Telegraph
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Translated by: Shkëlzen Dema
- April 15, 2025 23:15 am
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“We need to make sure they understand that decisions come with costs,” said Jonatan Vseviov, secretary of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The consequences are that they will not enter the European Union.”
Serbia could be blocked from joining the European Union if its president, Aleksandar Vucic, travels to Russia next month for the Victory Day parade, which will be hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian state media has reported that Aleksandar Vucic will be one of the foreign leaders to participate, as well as contribute military equipment, to the May 9 demonstration.
In response, European officials have warned Vučić that his visit would violate the criteria for membership in the bloc and set back his country's ambitions to join the EU.
“We need to make sure they understand that decisions come with costs,” said Jonatan Vseviov, secretary of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The consequences are that they will not enter the European Union.”
"The Russians have worked hard to have participants... for us this would be an important indicative test. Practically what we are looking for is whether they are on our side or playing on the other team," Vseviov said.
Kaja Kallas, the EU's high representative for foreign policy and security, said EU foreign ministers had discussed which members of the bloc could attend the ceremony in Moscow. The discussions took place during a meeting on Monday.
"What has also been clearly discussed and stated by various states is that any participation in the May 9 parade or celebrations in Moscow will not be taken lightly on the European side, considering that there is indeed a wider war taking place in Europe," she stated.
For a long time, Serbia has tried to simultaneously cultivate relations with Brussels and Moscow.
It applied to join the bloc in 2009 and became a candidate for membership in 2012.
Serbia's accession talks have been stalled in recent years, as it has not imposed sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Belgrade has refused to impose sanctions, as Western states have done, failing to harmonize its foreign policy with that of the EU.
Russia owns Serbia's only oil refinery and is refusing to sell it, leaving the Western Balkan country dependent on Moscow for economic stability.
Kallas has been forced to warn EU members not to attend the Victory Day ceremony, the day Russia commemorates the victory over Nazism during World War II.
Slovakia, an EU member state that has close ties with Moscow, has also been invited to the event.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said last year he would attend and is one of the few leaders from the bloc to have met with Putin since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is considered Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest ally in Europe, will not attend the event.
"I have also called on all member states, but also representatives of institutions, to visit Kiev as much as possible to truly show our solidarity and that we stand with Ukraine," added Kaja Kallas.
