Serbia was able to benefit financially and economically at the expense of Russian citizens who chose to leave Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine. The country accepts Russian citizens, helps them settle in a new place, and in return receives a highly skilled workforce with pro-European views. The Prime Minister of the Serbian Republic, Ana Brnabic, spoke about this in an interview with Bloomberg.
Brnabic did not give exact numbers of Russians who arrived in Serbia, but noted that the number goes to thousands. Serbia is one of the few European countries that has so far avoided sanctions against Russia, the Prime Minister explains this decision by the fact that the majority of Serbian citizens oppose such restrictions. Moreover, Serbia remembers how similar restrictions were imposed on Serbia itself during the war in Yugoslavia.
“Our people are strongly opposed to sanctions. We believe that the sanctions do not actually reduce Moscow's ability or willingness to continue the war," the prime minister said.
Belgrade believes that sanctions will not help bring Moscow to the negotiating table. At the same time, Serbia condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but Serbia does not intend to blame the Russians who left, on the contrary, local authorities see prospects in the emigration of educated Russians and are even ready to create preferential conditions for them. Brnabic expressed her satisfaction that qualified and talented young professionals, especially engineers, are coming to the country, becoming local taxpayers and helping the local high-tech industry to flourish.
“These young people are really Western-oriented, very well educated, they are against the war. This is good for us,” the prime minister said, noting that Serbia is one of the few countries where Russians are happy to see.
Serbia has been repeatedly criticized by the European Union for its low-key stance on sanctions against Russia. The country is still a candidate for EU membership, but Belgrade's position on Kosovo's independence, as well as relations with Russia, are considered the main obstacles to further integration into the union.
The Russian factor of economic growth in 2022 has already been felt by many countries that did not complicate the conditions of stay for Russian citizens. The greatest contribution of Russians to their economies was felt by Armenia and Georgia, where Russians actively bought real estate and moved for a long time. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kazakhstan and Turkey also felt positive in this regard. At the same time, European countries, despite the desire to weaken the Russian economy, on the contrary, complicate the conditions for the emigration of Russians, for example, the Baltic countries have tightened visa restrictions and do not let Russians on Schengen visas, other countries are tightening requirements for buying real estate, starting a business, etc.