Serbian leader says West spent billions trying to overthrow him
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has accused Western powers of trying to orchestrate his overthrow. In an interview on Pink TV broadcast on Monday, Vucic said “foreign powers” have spent around €3 billion ($3.1 billion) over the past decade trying to oust him from power.
Vucic’s remarks follow weeks of student-led anti-government protests over alleged corruption and negligence. The protests were initially triggered by the deadly collapse of a concrete canopy at the Novi Sad railway station last November following extensive renovations.
The incident, which claimed 15 lives, led to public outrage throughout the country. Vucic earlier blamed “foreign instructors” promoting Western, Croatian, and Albanian interests for the unrest, accusing them of attempting to launch a color revolution in Serbia.
In his latest interview, Vucic reiterated these claims, stating that foreign powers “started to invest more and more in Serbia’s destruction as soon as the country began to rapidly grow.”
“I am fascinated by how much money was invested in my overthrow. These foreign countries, they have invested so much money in the last 10 years… when I started counting, it was already €3 billion,” Vucic said. He cited the Trag Foundation, a UK charity that promotes social change in Serbia, as an example of a foreign-funded NGO linked to the protest movement, claiming that the agency has received €28 million ($28.85 million) from foreign powers.
According to Vucic, there are three objectives behind the foreign involvement in Serbia’s domestic affairs, including the “destruction of Serbia’s libertarian policy” and undermining the country’s standing in the Balkans.
“The third, which is the most important, is that they want to play us like a puppet show so that their word is the only one that is obeyed,” Vucic claimed.
“And they really don’t care about the people here, whom they took out to the streets for bloodshed. They really don’t care as they invested huge money,” he said, adding that attempts to oust him have failed and will continue to do so.
According to the president, the unrest is already waning as “all the students’ demands have been met” by the state, including the publication of documents related to the tragedy at Novi Sad, pardons for activists arrested at rallies, criminal proceedings against people accused of attacking demonstrators, and a 20% increase in funding for universities.
The protests have already led to the resignation of several high-ranking officials, including Infrastructure Minister Goran Vesic and Prime Minister Milos Vucevic. Some analysts say that meeting the protesters’ demands might not be enough to end the rallies, with calls now for deeper, systemic changes in the government.
UK health minister and Labour MPs dismissed over ‘sexist and racist’ comments
The British health minister and several UK Labour Party MPs have been dismissed after being caught up in a scandal over a leaked constituency WhatsApp chat group that allegedly contains offensive and abusive messages.
Health Minister Andrew Gwynne was sacked on Saturday after media reports exposed a series of sexist and racist messages he had sent while part of a WhatsApp group ‘Trigger Me Timbers’ that included Labour councilors, party officials, and at least one other MP.
The minister allegedly made anti-Semitic remarks and “joked” about a pensioner voter, expressing hope that she would die before the next election. Gwynne, the Gorton and Denton MP, was suspended by the Labour Party after the allegations came to light.
Three Labour councilors – Claire Reid, Jack Naylor, and George Newton – along with MP Oliver Ryan, who used to be Gwynne’s assistant, have also resigned and been suspended by the party.
In one of the comments the minister reportedly insulted a pensioner who had written to a local councilor complaining about bin collections.
Gwynne suggested the councilor respond: “Dear resident, F*** your bins. I’m re-elected and without your vote. Screw you. PS: Hopefully you’ll have croaked it by the all-outs,” HuffPost cited a leaked message. “All-outs” is a reference to council elections where all seats are contested simultaneously, typically every four years.
The health minister also reportedly made racist comments about Labour MP Diane Abbott and sexist remarks about Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and has joked about a constituent being “mown down” by a truck.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, British Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook called the remarks “unacceptable.”
“What the public can take from the way the prime minister [Keir Starmer] has acted decisively in this case to dismiss Andrew Gwynne is that if any other Labour MP or minister falls short he will act to uphold the highest standards in public office,” he said.
Gwynne expressed deep regret over his “badly misjudged comments” and apologized for any offense caused.
Burnley MP Oliver Ryan’s punishment was handed down just 48 hours after Gwynne was dismissed. Ryan was investigated after allegedly mocking a fellow Labour MP over his sexuality.
A Labour Party spokesperson told reporters that Ryan has been suspended from the Party as part of the investigation into the WhatsApp group.
Opinion polls indicate a decline in Labour’s popularity since its landslide victory last year, as the party struggles to maintain support amid stalled efforts to drive economic growth.
A YouGov voting intention poll revealed last week that a quarter of British voters would back Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK party ahead of Labour in a general election.
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Slovakia confirms resumption of Russian gas supply
Slovakia has started receiving Russian natural gas via the TurkStream pipeline, averting an energy crisis in the country after Kiev halted transit via Ukraine, Prime Minister Robert Fico has said.
TurkStream, a key energy connector under the Black Sea, has become the main route for Russian gas to southern and southeastern Europe following Kiev’s refusal to renew a transit deal with Moscow. The decision forced Slovakia and several other EU states to seek alternative supply routes.
In a video message posted on Facebook on Monday, Fico said, “The Russian gas is now starting its journey to Slovakia via TurkStream,” crediting joint efforts by Russia and Türkiye. “We should acknowledge their role in making it happen,” he added.
Slovak state gas supplier SPP said last week that it had begun importing gas via TurkStream on February 1 and planned to double the supply volume by April.
Slovakia, which has a contract with Russian energy giant Gazprom, requires between 4 billion and 5 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas annually to meet its energy needs. Prior to the transit halt, it had been receiving around 3 billion bcm from Russia through Ukraine.
Kiev terminated its five-year gas transit deal with Gazprom at the end of 2024, cutting off Russian pipeline deliveries to Hungary, Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Italy, and Moldova. The countries had already experienced a significant reduction in Russian gas imports due to Ukraine-related sanctions on Moscow and the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline, which was built to bypass Ukraine’s transit monopoly.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky defended the decision, arguing that halting Russian gas transit would deprive Moscow of crucial energy revenues. However, Slovakia and Hungary accused Kiev of deliberately triggering an energy crisis for political leverage.
While the TurkStream route helps Slovakia meet immediate energy needs, Bratislava continues to explore alternative supply sources to enhance long-term energy security, according to Fico.
The TurkStream pipeline consists of two branches, one serving Ankara’s domestic needs, the other supplying gas to Bulgaria. This Balkan route extends to Serbia and Hungary, connecting other EU states to Russian natural gas supplies. The pipeline has an annual capacity of 15.75 bcm.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported last month that Ukraine had targeted a compressor station in Russia’s Krasnodar Region, which supplies gas to TurkStream. The attack, which involved nine kamikaze drones launched by Ukrainian forces, was largely thwarted, according to the ministry. One fixed-wing drone crashed close to a gas meter and caused minor damage, it said.
Türkiye later confirmed the attempted attack but assured that gas flows through TurkStream remained unaffected.
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