Russian propaganda tailored to Serbia: When Putin returns to Kosovo

 

Vladimir Putin has been a "trusted partner" of the European Union for more than two decades, and numerous European leaders such as Angela Merkel, [the late] Silvio Berlusconi and Sebastian Kurz have competed to visit Moscow or welcome Putin at home.

Of course, this was a calculated tactic of the Europeans, since many countries of the Union, primarily Germany, France and Austria, for years counted on cheap Russian energy for their industry and citizens, and Russian oligarchs and businessmen were happy to buy luxury German limousines, penthouses in Vienna and produced by the French fashion industry. Russian yachts were often seen in European ports on the Mediterranean, as well as across the Adriatic, and private jets of oligarchs were a regular sight in Klagenfurt, Zurich and Paris.

During that time, the countries of the Western Balkans were on the declarative "path to the EU" and were implementing "European reforms". However, on July 1, 2013, when Croatia became a member of the EU, it became clear that there will be no new enlargements "until 2020", while today it is quite clear that there will be no enlargements until 2030 either. European ambitions in the Western Balkans are from then subsided, which the Kremlin was able to take advantage of almost completely. Although Russian propaganda is very present in the media, and especially on social networks throughout the region, it did not start with the beginning of the aggression against Ukraine - it has been going on for more than a decade.

 

 

Putin's support

Over the years, Putin has repeatedly stated that "Russia has nothing against the entry of the Balkan countries into the EU."

"We have nothing against Serbia joining the EU, but joining NATO is a different story," said Putin, then the Russian Prime Minister, in the Serbian parliament during his visit in 2011. "It is Serbia's internal matter how and with whom it will cooperate, and Russia will take care of its own interests."

In the Balkans, and especially in Serbia, it was also believed for years that "EU accession and NATO accession are two completely different things". After the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, it is almost certain that all candidate countries will have to become members of the same security area, such as Montenegro and North Macedonia, which still face numerous reforms until full membership in the Union, when and (if) it be it. They certainly assure from Brussels that it will "certainly happen in due course", and from the recent informal meeting of the Balkan leaders in Athens, it was heard that "Europe needs the Balkans now more than ever".

 

No Russian investments, but there is a 'pat on the back'

Such statements are probably the result of the great propaganda influence of the Kremlin, but also the growing economic influence of Beijing. Chinese investments are present throughout the Balkans, primarily in large infrastructure projects. Brussels is also financing the construction of several major highways across the region, and is now in a position to "compete" with Beijing.

There are no big investments from Moscow (in fact, there are none), but that's why there is "good old" propaganda and "patting on the back". The old Soviet strategy of "maskirovka" thus got its "new youth" in the Balkans.

A little over a month ago, in several Russian cities, as well as in several locations in Moscow, large murals with the inscription "When the army returns to Kosovo" appeared, which was reported as breaking news by almost all Russian propaganda media. Apart from Moscow, murals appeared in Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Saratov and Orel. Two months before that, identical murals (of the same size, color and design) appeared in several cities in Serbia, as well as in the region.

 

Kremlin propagandists are probably familiar with Resolution 1244 of the United Nations, according to which it is possible to return a certain number of Serbian security forces to the territory of Kosovo and Metohija, but only in agreement with international factors - and under their mandate. Therefore, there will not (nor can) be any "sudden return", because (even if in theory that happens) Belgrade would almost certainly risk new sanctions, as well as the termination of cooperation with international factors. But that sounds nice in the news, especially for the politically uninformed - both in Serbia and in Russia. On the other hand, it is precisely in the Land Security Zone between Serbia and Kosovo that the Serbian Army, as well as the Gendarmerie and international forces stationed in Kosovo, have been patrolling for years, and cooperation is at an extremely high level.

 

Bayraktari in Kosovo

This year, the Kremlin was also bothered by the international military exercise "Platinum Wolf", held at the "South" Base near Bujanovac, as well as the Land Security Zone itself. In an extremely harsh statement, even for Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that "the Kremlin will very carefully monitor the activities of this international military exercise." On that occasion, he also assessed that the exercise was "another form of pressure on Serbia to take an anti-Russian stance". At the same time, the senior adviser at the US State Department, Derek Chollet, thanked President Aleksandar Vučić for his "constructive stance on holding exercises".

It was not only the military exercises that attracted the attention of the Kremlin. A few months ago, Kosovo also received five "Bayraktar TB-2" drones from Turkey, the same ones that have been "sowing fear" in Ukraine for a year and a half. That drone proved to be an extremely capable aircraft on the front lines in Ukraine, and with this delivery, Kosovo is becoming a far more significant "security player" in the Balkans.

 

Although Serbia also planned to acquire "Bayraktars", and President Vučić even stated last year that he "received a promise from Turkish President Erdogan that Serbia will get the drones over the line", after Ankara's delivery to Pristina, the purchase of Chinese drones was announced. Pro-Russian tabloids in Serbia, as well as Russian propaganda media, presented it as "giving wind to NATO's back to Kosovo".

The sleepiness of Brussels and Washington

It seems that in the past year and a half, faced with the crisis in Ukraine, which has global effects, both Brussels and Washington have "fallen asleep" and are not making an excessive effort to reduce or prevent the massive pro-Russian propaganda throughout the Western Balkans. Tabloids, as well as more serious print media, have Putin on the cover almost every day. Televisions with a national frequency, and especially social networks and various podcast shows are full of various "analysts" and "experts", often with very questionable references. All of them "unanimously" assess that "Russia has almost triumphed in Ukraine", and that "Russia and China are the leaders of a new order in the world, which the Balkan countries should also join".

With all this propaganda, French President Macron's statement that "the EU should first be reformed by 2030, and only then make a plan for the admission of new members", goes well with the planners in the Kremlin. Today, the Western Balkans is the only area in the whole of Europe where Moscow can still easily project its views and interests.

The long-standing "tactic" of the Balkan leaders "if Brussels doesn't want us, we turn to Moscow" has come to a dead end today, since Moscow has more pressing problems - from losses in Ukraine, to the great fall of the ruble, to numerous international sanctions.