Russia found a moment not to join – Kommersant newspaper No. 186 (7148) dated 10/13/2021
A two-day forum dedicated to the 60th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ended in Belgrade on Tuesday. For the first time, Russia also took part in it, having recently received the status of an observer in the NAM. Many members use the tribune forum to do just that. The details are given by the Kommersant correspondent in the Balkans. Gennady Sysoev.
About sore
The Belgrade Forum was organized by Serbia, which has observer status in the NAM, but it was opened via a video link by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, whose country is now chairing the movement. He also expressed the key idea, which lost in many speeches: “The principles of non-alignment are still alive, and if they were accepted by all countries, there would be no wars today.”
The head of Azerbaijan also mentioned the long-term headache of his country – the Karabakh problem. He criticized neighboring Armenia, accusing it, among other things, of “ethnic cleansing”, thanked the NAM members for their support and stated that the Karabakh conflict is “in the past.” At the same time, Ilham Aliyev expressed gratitude to the movement for the unanimous decision to extend the presidency of Azerbaijan for a year – until 2023.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic did not fail to use the high podium to talk about the sore point. Calling NAM “a symbol of the freedom-loving part of the world that is ready to fight for independence, freedom and sovereignty,” he said that “Serbia knows how hard this struggle is,” because it itself is waging a “painful struggle to preserve the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo and Metohija.” … After that, the Serbian leader reassured the audience and the world community: Belgrade is ready for a compromise solution. “Despite the pressure, Serbia will never turn its back on friends.”
True, an hour later the Serbian president, by the will of the organizers, had to violate this principle: during the collective photographing, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was right behind Mr. Vucic.
Perhaps the biggest resonance in the entire region was caused by the speech of the Serbian member of the Presidium of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Milorad Dodik. Its very appearance on the forum was unexpected. Earlier it was announced that the BiH Presidium (the collective president of the country) decided not to participate in the event due to a recent incident on the border with Serbia. Although there was a sign “Member of the Presidium of BiH” in front of Mr. Dodik, he immediately warned that he was speaking on behalf of the Republika Srpska. “Bosnia and Herzegovina is under the protectorate of the US and the EU, which impose their will on us,” he announced. “A synonym for the protectorate is the illegal representative of the world community in our country.”
The forum did not provide for replies or discussion of speeches.
Russian debut
However, the Belgrade Forum was notable primarily for the fact that it hosted Russia’s debut in the Non-Aligned Movement, after it received observer status there this summer. For the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, the authorities were the first among the foreign affairs to arrive at the forum, right after the UN leaders.
The Russian Foreign Minister began by reading out the greeting of President Vladimir Putin, Russian politics, that “the positive potential of the movement is especially in demand” against the background of “an increasingly turbulent situation in the world.” Sergey Lavrov gave an assessment of the situation in the world on behalf of not only Russia, but also the NAM. are based on double standards and risk returning us to the era of neo-colonial bloc politics and dividing lines. “
According to Balkan experts, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry was, in fact, presented as “the main guest of the President of Serbia.”
“The event in Belgrade was obviously conceived as an opportunity for Russia to position itself with the help of Serbia in the Non-Aligned Movement,” Croatian foreign policy expert Vlado Vurusic from the Jutarnji list told Kommersant. “Another goal of Aleksandr Vucic is to reduce the role of the EU in the Serbo-Kosovo settlement and transfer it to the UN, where Belgrade is counting on Russian assistance.”
This thesis is shared by the Belgrade foreign policy expert Bosko Jaksic. “Sergei Lavrov was prepared by the failure of the recent EU-Balkan summit and sent a signal to Belgrade: don’t worry, there is an alternative,” the expert says.
It is curious that on October 11, on the opening day of the Non-Aligned Movement forum in Belgrade, the joint flight and tactical exercises BARS 2021, which are being conducted by the Serbian army and the aerospace forces of the Russian Federation, started in Serbia. The abbreviation of the exercises is also eloquent: “The Brotherhood of Aviation of Russia and Serbia.”