German MP: Serbia Must Choose a Side

Josip Juratovic (Beta/Milos Miskov)

Josip Juratovic, a member of Germany’s Bundestag and the president of its Western Balkans Committee, has stated that by introducing sanctions on Russia Western Balkan countries would show solidarity with the democratic world. Specifically, Serbia joining the sanctions would mean “that Serbia can rely on [the West] and that [the West] can rely on Serbia,” he said.
 
“The people sitting in Beijing and Moscow are by no means stupid: they know that [the Western Balkans] will be part of the European Union and will [hence] be beyond their influence. However, the countries in the region must now choose a side. Belgrade must decide whether it wants further partnership with us – and I’ll recall that about 70 percent of [foreign] investments in Serbia come from the EU,” Juratovic told the latest edition of the NIN weekly.

According to the German MP, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic “tells one story in Brussels, another in Moscow, a third in Belgrade, a fourth to the Serbian [interior].” “We have known this for years, but it won’t work any longer,” Juratovic concluded.