Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic warned that a direct military confrontation between Western countries and Russia is becoming "inevitable", citing a wave of rear-armed forces spreading across Europe.
Speaking in a recent local TV interview, Vucic said the possibility of such a confrontation was not a possibility, as defence spending in Europe is rising strongly.
The European Union (EU) has accelerated its mediation process amid concerns about the threat from Russia - something Moscow has dismissed, saying it is just politicalugheving to distract public opinion from internal economic difficulties.
My conclusion is that there are growing signs of a war between Europe and Russia, Vucic said, pointing out that even limited-scale Western countries are following this trend.
President Vucic said that the outcome of this situation could only be conflict. That is putting Serbia in a difficult position, because it is a neutral country, wanting to maintain good relations with Russia while still aiming for the goal of joining the EU.
Accordingly, Serbia's EU access process continues to be stalled because the country refuses to impose sanctions on Russia, due to the two countries' deep historical and cultural ties. Russia remains one of Serbia's main energy suppliers.
Moscow, for its part, has repeatedly accused NATO and the EU of causing instability in Europe by expanding the alliance and ignoring Russia's proposals for a common security mechanism, which, according to Russia, could have prevented the current crisis in Ukraine.
