Top Serbian-Russian disinformation of the past week

Kosovo, NATO and the United States of America (USA) were once again the target of Serbian-Russian disinformation and propaganda.

The week began with Republika Srpska entity President Milorad Dodik’s denial of the Srebrenica genocide, even though the UN had officially recognized it. He disinformed that there was a civil war there and said that “Serbia did not have a military unit in Srebrenica”, while accusing Croatia of “committing genocide against the Serb people”.

The brutal killings of Bosnian Muslims in Srebrenica by the Republika Srpska army have been recognized as genocide by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). By denying the genocide, Dodik misinformed that there was a civil war and that there were no Serbian army units there, while the data documented by credible international institutions and organizations proved the opposite.

Serbian media spread disinformation about Kosovo’s membership in the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. They claimed that “the voting results showed a lack of consensus within the organization”.

The decision to admit Kosovo as an associate member was taken in accordance with NATO Parliamentary Assembly procedures. Serbian media criticism of Montenegro and other countries that supported this decision was part of a wider propaganda campaign to destabilize regional relations and create the image of an alleged “betrayal of Serbian interests”. It is known that the decision-making process involved consultations with all NATO members. The vote reflected different views within the organization, but most countries recognized the importance of strengthening relations with Kosovo.

On the other hand, Russian President Vladimir Putin spread propaganda that NATO was allegedly instigating attacks on Russia.

At a press conference following a visit to Uzbekistan, Putin warned NATO members, particularly smaller European countries, that they would suffer the consequences if they allowed Ukraine to attack Russian territory.

Putin propagated that NATO’s support for Ukraine was based on the principles of protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity in accordance with international law and the United Nations Charter.

And Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov disinformed the US and NATO countries that they allegedly intended to wage war against Russia, but warned that such actions would have serious consequences. These claims are part of a wider Russian propaganda campaign aimed at justifying Russian aggression in Ukraine and portraying the West as the aggressor.

It is Russia that is pursuing an aggressive policy towards Ukraine, and it is NATO and Western countries that are providing support to the victims of aggression in accordance with international law./The Geopost/