Page 56 - TURKRptJun22

56 I Southeast Europe bne June 2022
Serbian officials blame bomb hoaxes that paralysed Belgrade on refusal to sanction Russia
bne IntelliNews
Serbian officials including Prime Minister Ana Brnabic have linked hundreds of bomb threats to the country’s refusal to join international sanctions on Russia.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Serbia, as an EU candidate country, has been under pressure to join the sanctions. However, while condemning the invasion it has so far refused to sanction Russia, citing Moscow’s longstanding support.
On May 16, Belgrade was paralysed by several hundred threats that bombs had been planted in public buildings across the city.
More than 100 of the threats claimed that bombs had been planted at primary schools in Belgrade. Other targets were bridges, shopping malls, a zoo, restaurants and a train station. None of the threats turned out to be real.
Minister of the Interior Aleksandar Vulin said on May 16 that e-mails to institutions and the media had been sent from several European countries. The newspaper Danas reported receiving a threatening message from the address sb1465@yandex.ru.
“It is a form of pressure for not imposing sanctions on the Russian Federation, coming from abroad. It is not naive at all, it is not accidental, it is something that has been well prepared and carefully planned,” said Prime Minister Ana Brnabic during her appearance on the pro-government Pink television.
Vulin called the bomb threats “a special war [that] is being waged against Serbia”, a ministry statement said.
"A special war is being waged against Serbia, and neither school institutions nor children were spared in that war. Our state is serious about solving the problem of false
reports about bombs. The Ministry of the Interior takes care of the safety of all citizens, especially children, and we will do everything to ensure that classes go smoothly,” said Vulin at a meeting with Minister of Education, Science and Technological Development Branko Ružic to discuss the issue on May 17.
In an earlier statement on May 16, Vulin said: “Threats from various European countries are threatening the addresses of institutions, news outlets and companies. Attacks on our country have not been initiated or carried out by any individual, they are mass, organised and very expensive hacker attacks, led from various centres for hybrid warfare.”
He added: “The value of the equipment alone needed for
a strike of such a volume and strength as took place today, exceeds one hundred thousand euros, but the damage inflicted in lost working hours and the suspension of the economy is in the millions.”
in Ukraine was not a major issue. After losing the election Jansa went on Twitter to accuse Freedom Movement leader Robert Golob, expected to become Slovenia’s next prime minister, of being pro-Russian.
Staying neutral
Two states from the region, Moldova and Serbia, have professed their neutrality but for very different reasons.
www.bne.eu
Moldova
Moldova has condemned the invasion of Ukraine but still maintains its neutrality. This is despite the president and the government being from the western-oriented Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) that aims to take Moldova closer to the EU. Officials including Foreign Minister Nico Popescu have explained since the outbreak of war that Moldova is simply
too vulnerable to take a stronger stance against Russia. The decision to remain neutral was taken back in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea, said the deputy prime minister on March 28. Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita confirmed in March that Chisinau will not seek Nato membership.
Indeed the country, sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania and
Serbian ministers discuss the bomb threats on hundreds of buildings in Belgrade. Photo: mup.gov.rs