European Union (EU) Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos warned on Wednesday that Serbia will find it difficult to stay on track towards EU membership if its president, Aleksandar Vučić, visits Moscow next week.
Kos said that, however, it is up to Vučić to decide whether or not he wants to go to Russia.
Vucic has said he will attend the Victory Day parade on May 9 and meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for the first time since the Kremlin's full-scale occupation of Ukraine began.
"May 9, 1945 and May 9, 2025 are two dates with different values. Going to Moscow and celebrating with Putin, or his army that is killing people in Ukraine, is in complete contradiction with European values and in great contradiction with the decision of the EU Council, which decided in 2022 that member states should not take any steps that could give legitimacy to Putin and Russia," Kos said, answering a question from Radio Free Europe at a press conference in Belgrade.
She reiterated that Serbia, as a candidate for EU membership, must have its policies fully in line with Brussels' foreign and security policy by the time of accession.
"However, relations with Moscow today cannot be 'as if nothing is happening,'" she stressed.
"But this is his [Vučić's] decision," Kos concluded.
Serbia has refused to join Brussels in imposing sanctions against Russia after it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Kos is staying in Belgrade on a two-day visit, his first since taking office.
Kos recalled that there are several conditions that Serbia must fulfill in continuing negotiations with the EU in order to open the third chapter.
"Everything is stated in the 'non-paper'. It concerns three laws, the law on media, the electoral law and REM. And of course, yesterday we talked about this with the Government of Serbia and the Speaker of the Parliament. They promised to fulfill it, and we will monitor that this actually happens," Kos declared.
As a candidate for EU membership, Serbia has not opened any negotiation chapters since December 2021.
The process has stalled due to its refusal to align its foreign policy with that of the Union and to impose sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Brussels also demands progress from Belgrade on the rule of law and in the dialogue with Kosovo./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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