Zelenovic: Serbia’s Military Neutrality Untenable

Nebojsa Zelenović (printscreen)

In an op-ed for the latest edition of the Vreme weekly, co-president of the Together party Nebojsa Zelenovic expressed his belief that Serbia’s policy of military neutrality has become unsustainable because “the Russian aggression on Ukraine has lowered a new iron curtain on the European continent.”

“Serbia is physically surrounded by a political ocean which is firmly helping Ukraine defend itself against the aggression. All our neighboring countries, aside from Bosnia and Herzegovina, are members of NATO. Because of this, our country’s policy of military neutrality has become untenable and it is time for big change,” Zelenovic wrote.

Whether or not Serbia will join NATO is something the public should decide via referendum, Zelenovic said and proposed an International Conference on the Western Balkans, which would gather all the region’s political entities along with the Quint (the U.S., Germany, France, the U.K and Italy) and Croatia.

The purpose of the conference would first and foremost be to reach an agreement on a joint defense policy, which would be “fully harmonized with the EU foreign and security policy.” To pave the way for this, Serbia should sign bilateral defense pacts with Montenegro and North Macedonia.

“Such a military defense agreement would be the cornerstone for the formation of the Western Balkan Economic Community, as a single economic space comprising all six entities. Over 20 million people would be able to move, settle, receive medical treatment, get an education and work without any borders. The Western Balkan Economic Community would be given a clear plan with exact deadlines for full EU membership,” Zelenovic explained.