Serbia adopted the Russian firefighting aircraft Il-76 on 19 August to fight the fire in Deliblatska Peszczar, due to the fact that there was no available device of this class in the EU civilian Protection Mechanism. For Belgrade it is simply a rescue, for Brussels a painful test of credibility in the Balkans.
Russian Il-76 in Nishu
Russian Il-76 from the Ministry for Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation landed on the evening of August 19 at the airport of Constantine the large in Nishu. As he stated Government of Serbia in authoritative communication, the device is expected to support the fire extinguishing action in Deliblatska Peszczar from 20 August, 1 of the most valuable natural areas of the country.
The aircraft was welcomed by Luka Causić, Head of Emergency Sector at the Serbian Ministry of Interior. Serbia thanks Russia for its aid due to the fact that the fire has been going on for respective days and firefighters are working in highly hard conditions. In its authoritative transmission, Belgrade pointed out explicitly: firefighting aircraft of this capacity were not available in the European civilian Protection Mechanism.
The Union has procedures, Russia sent the machine
This is simply a politically uncomfortable image. The European Union has been convincing the Balkans for years that it is simply a natural centre of security, assistance and civilization. However, erstwhile Serbia needed dense equipment here and now, the answer came from Moscow. Not from a folder about European solidarity, but from a Nishu airport.
There's no request to make extra money on the Kremlin's relationship with Belgrade. Just cool realism. The state in crisis takes aid where it actually finds it. If Brussels wants to push Russia out of the Balkans, it must have something to replace Russian capabilities. The messages themselves will not extinguish the forest, nor will they build assurance in the region, which we have written more about on occasion increasing tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Balkans look at effectiveness
Delibanta Peszczara is not a large diplomatic scene. It's fire, smoke, tired firefighters, and people expecting you to defend their safety. It is at specified moments that we can see that large political blocks are more than a strategy of conferences, funds and declarations.
Serbia formally remains a candidate for the European Union, but consistently guards its own game between the West, Russia and China. This is how a state that has not given thought to the national interests of external offices. 1 can argue with the politics of Belgrade, especially from the Polish position of Russia's war against Ukraine, but it is hard not to announcement 1 thing: Serbs account for partners from concrete.
Lesson for Poland too
For Poland, the proposal is simple. safety cannot be based on the belief that a transnational structure will always come with help. You request your own capabilities, your own reserves, your own aviation, your own infrastructure protection, and your own hard deals with those who actually deliver the equipment.
The war in Ukraine showed the brutality of Russia, as others remind us Russian strikes in Kiev and civilian infrastructure. It's not just due to the fact that a Russian plane helps Serbia put out fires. But global politics is not an academy of good intentions. If the West leaves a gap, others fill it.
Brussels likes to talk about strategical autonomy. Serbia has just learned a strategical lesson: autonomy has been given to those who have equipment, people and decisions, not the 1 who best describes the procedure.
Source: Government of the Republic of Serbia, HR News
Source: WP News
