Vucic’s Justification to His Own Voters

Aleksandar Vucic, Vladimir Putin (Photo: Presidency of Serbia / Dimitrije Goll)

On Oct. 21, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic finally announced his decision on participation in the BRICS Summit in Russia’s Kazan, which Russian President Vladimir Putin had personally invited him to. The day before the summit, when all the participants were already in Kazan, Vucic announced that he could not go to that gathering, because it would be considered “deviating from the European path.” He announced the decision during an appearance on public service RTS, but in such a way that his electorate would not perceive it as Serbia turning its back on Russia.