Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić arrived in Ukraine on June 11 to attend the annual Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Ukrainian Black Sea port city Odesa. It was the Serbian leader’s first visit to Ukraine since taking office twelve years ago and came one month after Vučić sparked anger in Brussels by attending Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day parade in Moscow.
The Serbian’s decision to accept Putin’s invitation and travel to Russia led to sharp criticism from Brussels and warnings that the move could undermine Belgrade’s EU membership bid. By showing his support for Ukraine, Vučić may now be seeking to demonstrate that Serbia’s stance toward Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not entirely out of step with the overall EU position.
Serbia has long been seen as one of Russia’s stanchest European allies. Belgrade has officially sought to adopt a neutral stance toward Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and has spoken in favor of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. While in Odesa, Vučić expressed Serbia’s readiness support to Ukraine’s recovery by taking responsibility for reconstruction efforts in a specific city or region. However, he reportedly refused to sign a summit statement condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russia has recently slammed Serbia for allegedly supplying Ukraine with weapons via intermediaries. Kremlin officials have said the Serbian deliveries are a “stab in the back.” Vučić has denied the Russian claims and has suggested setting up a working group to investigate how Serbian weapons are reaching Ukraine.