"... Serbs should totally abandon the stupid idea of joining the EU
which has become a club of bullies to them, and go where they will be respected and also have economic advantages. Russia’s rapidly becoming an energetic superpower and Serbs can’t but proffit from it ...."

Hope that most Serbs see this truth.

P.S. Herman Rauschning, the president of Danzig senate (1933-34) prior to leaving the Nazi party, has attributed the following gem to A. Hitler:

"Politics is a game where the rules change according to the skills of the players."

Hitler, of course, was a darling of the decaying Western powers (before he turned on them too), their hero & hope who would "stave off the Bolshevik menace". However, he also had good understanding of his admirers.

Our Dr. Kostunica is a man of integrity, a legal scholar who believes in following the rule(s) of international law. However, "what do you do when" your opponents on both sides of Atlantic decide not to follow these rules? They have honed this "skill" through ages; even Schicklgruber knew that. In practical terms, legalese doesn't do much for the short side, does it?

"The Taliban's shadow hangs over NATO

Following the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit and the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President George W Bush, the Russians say they were "defeated": the US's missile defense shield in Europe and NATO's expansion will go ahead. This is a smokescreen. Moscow, by agreeing to the transit of food and non-military cargo and "some types of non-lethal military equipment" across Russia to Afghanistan, now has a role in NATO's operations in Afghanistan. - M K Bhadrakumar (Apr 7, '08)
...
"
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/JD08Ag01.html

The US, with either known or unknown European complicity, is driving the globe to another cold war and perhaps even towards a hot war. Encricling Russia is a forcing mechanism. Russia, whether it wants to or not (it does not), may have to create a military presence of sorts in the Balkans, and Serbia, whether it wants to or not (it does not), may have to accept a Russian military presence. Whether the two have strong or weak allegiances may prove beside the point if the continent is thrown into a massive war by forces that neither Russia nor certainly Serbia can control. The Great (sic) Powers screwed it up in 1914 and 1939 and look to be screwing it up now. The question is whether it is 1989, 1995, 1999, 2008, or some future date we will reference when discussing when it was screwed up on this go round.

Beyond that, considering how the EU increasingly treats its subjects, and considering Western Europe's eagerness to blast Serbia in violation of international law, NATO seems to finally actually be becoming what Soviet propaganda had made it out to be for many years -- an aggressive alliance aimed at Moscow.

All things considered, it is time for the US to leave NATO.

Black Sea expansion has created unnecessary tension between the West and Russia. It's counterproductive to any peace initiatives that have been achieved since the Cold War.

Time will prove that this is destructive for peace, and it will only increase the threat of Iran, Islamic terror, etc., as we will lose any alliances we've developed in Christian Eastern Europe and Russia.

The fact that the U.S. has turned it's back on Serbia long ago by supporting an Islamic nation such as Kosovo, robbing the Serbs of their territory, makes matters worse.

The U.S. needs an ally in Vladimir Putin. Aggravating a situation such as this will hurt everyone involved in the long run. I hope "The Power's That Be" think twice before pursuing this any further.

Yes, there is an attachment that Serbs primarily and other Orthodox Balkan people generally have with "Mother Russia." My late father would speak of Russia with tears in his eyes, but this was emotion of the heart, rather than the mind. In most cases, as another reader points out, when the chips were down, the Balkan countries had to fend for themselves, or get the best deal from the West.

Kosovo is indeed a huge historical injustice, but unfortunately Serbia becoming a Belarus-like client state is no answer. Where is the Russian investment? Serbia's largest foreign investors are Greece (a neighbor and traditional Orthodox friend), Slovenia (former Yugoslav republic), and Austria (the enemy).

The European Union is the only choice, and it comes at a sickening price, amputation, but becoming a CIS bargaining chip from Russia which is willing to sacrifice it in the course of their Great Power "games," as in the past, is not a great option for Serbia.

Russia wont help Serbs remove foreign NGOs from its land it hasn't done so in Russia were there more active so way do it in Serbia? If Russia did so or set up military bases the Western alliance would use that as a provocation to attack Russia. Russians are smarter than that and wont to avoid an all out confrontation at all cost. They know if they diversify there capital and seek joint investment in other countries than it would be harder for a foreign backed bolshevik style tackover to sieze and control Russia something the Czar failed to do. It would be better if Serb authorities launched an investigation of these foreign NGOs and there actives and passed a law in parlament limiting the amount of NGOs operating in the country.