Serbian historian Milivoj Beshlin has assessed that Russia, following the war in Ukraine, will not have the capacity in the coming decades to exert the same level of influence in the Balkans as it has done until now.
Beshlin said that Russia has suffered not only a military and material defeat in Ukraine, but also a moral and political setback, raising questions about its ability to remain actively engaged in the region in the future.
According to him, this situation will place Serbia before an important strategic choice regarding its future direction.
“The question then becomes where and in which direction Serbia will turn. Will it return to the European Union, peace with its neighbors, and its own democratization?” Beshlin said.
He added that the clearest sign of a democratic Serbia would be abandoning what he described as the destructive concept of a “Greater Serbia” and building good-neighborly relations with countries across the region.
