Russia

Moscow, September 28, 2026. The resignation of Aleksandar Vučić, announced on Sunday, September 27, from the presidential palace in Belgrade, is being deciphered by the Russian press through the prism of Western sanctions against Russia. Under Article 116, paragraph 5, of the Serbian Constitution, Vučić signed his resignation live on television, specifying that he would transfer his powers on Monday to the Speaker of the Parliament, Ana Brnabić, who will ensure the interim until a presidential election is held before December 27, according to TASS and Interfax.

But it is above all the explanation that Vučić himself gives for the protests that is holding attention in Moscow. On Sunday, on public television RTS, he stated that Belgrade's refusal to impose sanctions on Russia since the decision of the Serbian National Security Council in March 2022 was, in his words, "more than 70% the real reason" for the attempts at "color revolution" that have been shaking the country for nearly two years, reports RIA Novosti. He recalled that Belgrade had supported four of the thirteen points of the UN resolution condemning Russian actions in Ukraine, without adopting any sanctions or seizures of Russian companies' assets.

Vučić also reported, on Saturday, a telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin, thanking him for "fourteen years of cooperation" and hoping that future Serbian presidents will maintain a balance "between all factors on the international scene", according to RIA Novosti and Vedomosti.

In electoral terms, Vučić, president since 2017 and re-elected in 2022, will lead the list of the Serbian Progressive Party in the early legislative elections on October 25 to run for the post of prime minister, against the cardiologist from Novi Sad Ilija Srdanović, head of the "Student List" coalition, according to TASS. RT describes supporters gathered in front of the presidential palace, chanting thanks and hailing him as a "political genius".

The Serbian channel N1, cited by Interfax, confirms Vučić's effective departure on Sunday. Meduza puts the decision into the context of nearly two years of mobilization following the collapse of the canopy of the Novi Sad train station, which killed 16 people on November 1, 2024, and recalls that the Serbs will have to vote twice: in the legislative elections on October 25, and then in a possible presidential election as early as November 1.