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"Octopus": Russia uses far-right groups in Serbia to increase influence in the Balkans

2023-07-28 19:36:46, Kosova & Bota CNA

"Octopus": Russia uses far-right groups in Serbia to increase

A report by the Institute for Hybrid Warfare Studies, Octopus, based in Pristina, estimates that Russia is using extreme right-wing groups in Serbia to increase its influence in the Balkan region.

Taulant Elshani, senior researcher at this institute, said that Serbia offers such groups financial, infrastructural and media support to distribute propaganda content.

"The political, historical and cultural ties as well as the current geopolitical and geostrategic interests between Serbia and Russia serve as the backbone around which these right-wing extremist organizations gravitate. This axis therefore serves as an umbrella for these exponents by financing and maintaining their activities to undermine and damage the credibility of democratic states", he said.

According to the research, the main activities of these groups are spreading lies, confusion in social networks, false descriptions of various areas with historical and religious importance, discrediting political leaders, inciting hatred and even violence.

"It is also important to say that exponents of the European extreme right that operate in the Balkans, mainly in Serbia, often disguise themselves under the guise of humanitarian activists or humanitarian organizations, organizations that may facilitate inter-ethnic communication, mainly pretending that they are doing other jobs", said Mr. Elshani.

Cedomir Stojkovic, a Serbian lawyer and politician, said that official Belgrade uses these groups to incite hatred and division between the peoples in the Balkans, in order to prevent their integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures.

"This is the commonality between Belgrade and Moscow for about two decades, because when hatred is created against the other nation, and in the Balkans this is easily accessible and we all know why, then reconciliation is prohibited and when reconciliation is prohibited, the integration of the region is also prohibited in the European Union and NATO. Reconciliation is among the essential elements for the integration of this region and Russia does not want this to happen, as it does not want this to happen with Ukraine either", he said, emphasizing the relations between Kosovo and Serbia.

"In this period of time, it is very important to know that when there is an increase in tensions between Serbia and Kosovo, these tensions are not created by the people because citizens in Belgrade and other cities of Serbia do not feel any tension when it comes to relations with Kosovo, tensions are created by extreme right-wing groups and then used by the Serbian government," he said.

The Oktopus Institute study says that despite the fact that the representatives of the extreme right often keep a low public profile, the danger from them is not such that they can be very harmful to the national interests of the Balkan states. To reduce these risks, the study recommends that the countries of the Western Balkans strengthen democratic institutions, the rule of law and the independence of the media./ VOA