Serbia's Russia-EU Balance

Serbia's simultaneous negotiations with the European Union and Russia reflect a key feature of Belgrade's foreign policy — to extract as many concessions as possible from both powers. Belgrade's interest in maintaining relationships with both the European Union and with Russia has deep historical roots, which are linked to Serbia's position in the European borderlands. Recently, Serbia sought to position itself as a bridge for EU countries to do business with Russia. But the EU crisis and Russia's moderate interest in the Western Balkans constrain Belgrade's strategy.