Kremlin hails defeated ally Vucic as Serbia's student winners take power

The Kremlin has paid tribute to its defeated Serbian ally Aleksandar Vucic after a student-backed protest movement swept his party from power in Serbia’s parliamentary election, in Moscow’s first reaction to the result on Monday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had taken note of the result and praised Vucic’s contribution to bilateral relations. “We greatly appreciate the contribution that Mr Vucic has made to the development of our bilateral relations. We are aware that Mr Vucic will remain active in politics, and we hope that, even while in opposition, he will continue to contribute to the development of our bilateral relations,” Peskov told reporters. (Reuters via The Straits Times)

Peskov added that Moscow hoped Serbia’s new rulers would understand cooperation with Russia was in Serbia’s interests, and that Russia intended to keep fostering relations with Belgrade. “But, as you know, it takes two to tango,” he said. (Reuters)

Vucic, who has been in Serbian politics as prime minister or president since 2014, conceded defeat on Sunday after the student-backed list won the snap election. Reuters reported that with almost 99% of votes counted, the students had secured 52.7% of the vote against 39.2% for Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party-led alliance, giving them 139 seats in the 250-seat parliament against 97 for the alliance. Serbia has aspirations to join the European Union but did not sign up to EU-backed sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine, and Russia remains a vital energy supplier to Serbia.

This is a follow-up to Flip News’s own coverage of Vucic’s concession and the election commission’s near-final count.