Serbia and the War in Ukraine

Abstract

The war in Ukraine has created a situation in which the Republic of Serbia may see an opportunity to take up some unfinished business; for this purpose, Serbia has recently been purchasing armaments from Russia and China and has sought also to purchase 12 fighter jets from France. The Serbian government does not recognize the sovereignty of Kosovo and regards the land controlled by Prishtina as rightfully Serbian, while the Republika Srpska (the Serb part of Bosnia-Herzegovina) has sought for years to secede from union with the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina and to unite with Serbia. The weapons may figure as a way to pressure and intimidate the Albanians of Kosovo to return to the negotiating table and to present the Bosnian government in Sarajevo with a fait accompli.