Russia's influence on Serbia and Montenegro

"Serbia and Montenegro have become red spots on the map the Kremlin uses for its geopolitical games. Russia wants the traditionally allied Slavic-Orthodox countries to serve as a foothold in Europe," Andrei Invanyi explains. It remains unclear whether the two countries will turn to the West or the East. "To avoid the nightmare scenario of Russian military bases in Serbia pitched against NATO bases in Kosovo and a non-stop crisis in the Balkans, Brussels has adopted a new last-minute strategy: instead of exerting pressure and imposing conditions it is offering Serbia an unconditional revival of the euro-Atlantic integration processes. In this way it hopes to make the loss of Kosovo more bearable for Belgrade. But Russia's brotherly embrace is growing stronger."

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