Serbian intelligence chief resigns due to imposed US sanctions over ties to Moscow

The head of Serbia's Security and Information Agency (BIA) has resigned after being sanctioned by the United States in July for his perceived close ties to Moscow.

As reported by Euractiv, Aleksandar Vulin was accused of assisting Moscow in its "malign" activities, having connections to an arms dealer and a drug trafficking ring.

In his resignation letter, Vulin mentioned that he was stepping down to eliminate the risk of Western "threats and blackmail" to President Aleksandar Vučić and Serbia over joining international sanctions against Russia. “If we would agree to that, the next demand would be … the acceptance of Western values”, Vulin said.

Vulin, who previously served as the defence minister and the minister of interior, is the first Serbian high-ranking official who has been sanctioned by the US since Vučić took presidential office in Serbia in 2017.

This development coincides with Western pressure increasing on Serbia to improve relations with Kosovo, its Albanian southern province amid fierce tensions in the region throughout the year and comes also shortly after President Vučić announced a snap election for December 17th.