Expert: Serbia Closer to the Edge after Elections

Aleksandar Vucic (Photo: Beta/AMIR HAMZAGIC)

Serbia is even closer to "the edge" after elections, according to Richard Kraemer, a fellow at the U.S. Foreign Policy Research Institute, whose recent analysis titled Serbia on the Edge concludes that the country is an ally to China and Russia and that it poses a threat to the concept of trans-Atlantic security.

Kraemer told the Voice of America in an interview on April 9 that, sooner or later, Aleksandar Vucic, as president of Serbia and the Serbian Progressive Party, would have to take a look in the mirror and decide what Serbia's future was going to be.

Emerging with almost 60 percent of the vote, Vucic is well-positioned, Kraemer said, adding that his campaign messages of peace and stability had found approval among a large number of citizens who supported this at a time when lines toward the East and Russia were being drawn.

Kraemer pointed out that Serbia had to decide what its trajectory would be and whether turning toward the East and countries like Russia and China was in its best interest. He said the lines were being drawn, and consequently demands for Serbia to pick a side were increasing.