Balkan Countries in Tight Spot Over Moscow V-Day Commemoration

While Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Macedonian President Georgy Ivanov have accepted the invitation from Moscow to attend the May 9 commemoration of 70 years since the victory over fascism, the leaders of other countries in the region won't be attending, having bowed to pressure from Washington and the European Union to miss the event.

Earlier this week, Ivanov announced he would be joining Nikolic at the celebrations in Moscow, defying instructions from US and European Union representatives to snub the event.

"Ivanov has always pursued the politics of openness to all, so the decision to attend the commemoration in Moscow is not in any way contradictory to the strategic priorities of Macedonia – membership in the EU and NATO," read a statement from the President's office, according to local news agency Tanjug.

In addition to Ivanov, in late April the leader of Republika Srpska, one of two autonomous entities which constitute the federation of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzogovina, also confirmed that he would attend. When asked if he was going to the parade, Milorad Dodik replied categorically, "Yes. And no-one is going to stop me. I got the invitation and I'm going."

In March Serbian President Nikolic upbraided EU representative Eduard Kukan for trying to dissuade Serbia from attending the parade: "Mr. Kukan is trying in vain to pressure Serbia to make a decision which is not in the interests of the citizens of Serbia," said Nikolic in a statement.

"It is impolite to give advice to someone who never asked for it," continued the President, who later confirmed that the Serbian armed forces will also take part in the military parade. "The opinion of the vast majority of [our] citizens is that our country needs to nurture well the best relations with everyone, including the Russian Federation."

At the beginning of April, the Croatian newspaper Vecernji List observed that "nerves are visible in the Union," when it reported that newly elected Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic would not be attending the commemoration, and cited Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics' attempt to get the EU to issue directive across the Union for heads of state not to attend.

Earlier this month, one of Grabar-Kitarovic's predecessors criticized the decision from western leaders not to attend the May 9 parade, writing that, rather than being an opportunity for political point-scoring, the significance of the event lies in its historical importance: "May 8 is celebrated as a victory over an order which, had there not been huge Soviet sacrifices, would have ruled over a large part of the world, despite the bravery and steadfastness of Churchill, de Gaulle and their supporters," wrote former Croatian President Stjepan Mesic.

After reports earlier in April that Slovenian President Borut Pahor was still undecided about whether to attend or to bow to political pressure from EU and US representatives, news came from the presidents' office on Thursday that he had made the decision not to attend, instead leaving his country's representation to his Minister of Foreign Affairs Karl Erjavec. Rather than come to Moscow, Pahor relayed in a statement, he would take part in celebrations taking place in Ljubljana the same day.

Pahor follows the President of Montenegro Filip Vujanovic, who announced on April 7 that he had decided not to attend, which was met with a furious reaction from the political opposition.

"With the decision from the president not to go to Moscow to mark the 70th anniversary of the victory over fascism, the Montenegrin government has again displayed subservient inferiority," said leader of DEMOS Miodrag Lekic, adding that "those who have made this decision in place of Vujanovic have said more about Montenegro today, than about Russia, which made the greatest sacrifices in the battle against Nazism and fascism during the Second World War."