A cross-party coalition of over 20 British members of parliament has urged the UK government to impose sanctions on Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic after he attended a military parade in Moscow on May 9 alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and other international leaders.

Vucic’s participation in Russia’s Victory Day celebrations, held during Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine, has sparked inevitable criticism in Western capitals. EU officials had warned Serbia that such a move could further derail its long-stalled accession talks.

The letter, addressed to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and shared publicly on May 13, was spearheaded by Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck and co-signed by 25 other MPs. It calls for a fundamental reassessment of UK foreign policy towards Serbia and urges “targeted sanctions against President Vucic, his government and associates”.

“I have today written to the foreign secretary seeking a step change in approach to our foreign policy towards Serbia,” Lewell-Buck said on X. She described Vucic’s presence at the Moscow event as “tacit support” for the Kremlin’s war.

The MPs' letter portrays Serbia as the main villain in the region, intent on “bringing the Balkans back to bloody conflict again”. Lewell-Buck accuses Vucic of destabilising the Western Balkans, citing alleged support for the “Greater Serbia” ideology and interference in neighbouring Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

But Vucic is not the only European leader courting Putin. Vucic appeared at the Moscow event alongside Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. While Fico is head of an EU member state, the letter does not call for similar measures against him—a discrepancy that may raise questions about the MPs' consistency and motive for singling out Serbia.

During a March 2025 parliamentary debate on Ukraine, Lewell-Buck raised concerns about Russia’s global alliances, explicitly naming Serbia. She has been a vocal critic of Russian foreign policy and was among several UK lawmakers sanctioned by Moscow in 2022.

Serbia, a formal UK ally, has long sought to maintain a delicate balance between its EU ambitions and its ties with Moscow. Since the West recognised its former province Kosovo in 2008, and its EU membership prospect waned, Serbia has pursued closer ties with Russia, China, Turkey, as well as the Gulf states, cultivating diplomatic ties wherever it can grow its economy. 

Lammy, who met Vucic in Belgrade on April 2, emphasised the UK’s interest in a “stable and secure Western Balkans”. He acknowledged Serbia’s role in regional stability, a position echoed by many European governments that have treated Vucic as a pragmatic actor in a volatile region.

With the UK Foreign Office yet to issue a formal response, sanctions against Vucic are unlikely. Such a move would mark a significant shift in Britain's approach and could place it at odds with European partners who, while critical, have continued to do business with Vucic,

As foreign policy divisions mount within Europe and diplomatic alignments shift globally, with the US moving toward rapprochement with Russia, Serbia appears increasingly unwilling to embrace EU and UK demands. Many in Belgrade question why Serbia should impose sanctions on Russia, a long-term ally and supporter of its claim over Kosovo, particularly when it was itself the target of Western military action and sanctions in the 1990s.