site.btaSerbia’s President Vucic Thanks Russia for Warning on Alleged EU Meddling

Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic thanked Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) on Tuesday for alerting him that the European Union is allegedly orchestrating and financing unrest in Serbia. SVR claims the current disturbances, driven by young people, stem from EU subversive activities.

On Monday, SVR said it had received information that the recent unrest in Serbia, particularly the active participation of young people, is largely the result of subversive action by the European Union and its member States.

“I have no doubt that those who organized the “colour revolution” will not simply give up; too much money has been invested, and they will make a final attempt to seize power by force. We are ready for this. We were unprepared in December, January and part of February. I thank our Russian partners for the information and warnings. We will preserve and protect Serbia,” Vucic said in response to a journalist’s question during his visit to Japan.

He went on, “We have long been prepared for this. We were ready for such an attempt even before March 15. We were probably unprepared and surprised in December, January and part of February, but since February 15, we have been far better prepared and the situation is now different.” 

Vucic referred to the SVR report’s suggestion that an attempt to seize power by force might be staged on November 1, marking one year since the incident at the railway station in the northern Serbian city of Novi Sad, in which 16 people died.

Anti-government protests have been held in Serbia for ten months, organized mainly by students demanding political and criminal accountability for those responsible for the Novi Sad tragedy and for the institutions to begin functioning. 

In May, the students called for snap parliamentary elections and declared the government illegitimate. Protests escalated over the summer into various forms of civil disobedience, clashes with police and mass arrests.