Serbia, political analysts say, is creeping steadily backward politically to the ominous days of the 1990s amid a groundswell of nationalist sentiment. This comes even as the country is likely to become the next member state of the European Union. In response to Serbia’s creep toward Moscow, Washington pushed back in a rare public rebuke in October. And it has the most pro-Russian political positions of any European Union candidate, refusing to join European sanctions against Russia over Ukraine. “We expect political leaders to honor the victims of the past conflicts and sincerely promote reconciliation in the Western Balkans,” Maja Koncijancic, a spokeswoman for the European Union, said in a statement.

Source: New York Times November 23, 2017 23:03 UTC