Serbia’s French Warplane Deal Discredits Vucic’s Earlier Color Revolution Claim
Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter
He wouldn’t have gone through with this $3 billion deal if he really thought that the West was trying to overthrow him like he claimed less than a month ago.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic surprised observers when he announced during a meeting with his French counterpart in Belgrade last week that he agreed to a $3 billion deal to buy 12 Rafale warplanes. The reason why this was so unexpected is that his government had recently accused the West of orchestrating an ultimately failed Color Revolution against him in early August that he claimed Russia had also warned him about right beforehand.
It was explained here at the time why “The Serbian Government Is Inadvertently Responsible For The Latest Color Revolution Intrigue”, which drew attention to the legitimate grievances that some patriotic members of its population have against him. These include taking steps that can be interpreted as de facto recognition of Kosovo’s “independence”, voting against Russia at the UN, and allegedly arming Ukraine. Nevertheless, the West still wants a fully compliant puppet, not someone with semi-autonomy.
The last-mentioned observation accounts for why they still kindle Color Revolution unrest in Serbia, though Vucic’s French warplane deal suggests that he doesn’t take it as seriously as he makes it seem. After all, if he was really concerned about being overthrown through weaponized protests like Slobodan Milosevic before him, then he’d have presumably pulled Serbia out of large-scale military talks with the West like the ones that it was engaged in with France up until now.