The award presented to the former head of Serbia’s top civilian intelligence agency Aleksandar Vulin is the third presented to a ruling coalition politician by the Russian authorities over the past two months, Belgrade daily Danas said on Monday.
It recalled that high-ranking Socialist Party of Serbia (SPS) official Dusan Bajatovic and Serb People’s Party leader Nenad Popovic (a former cabinet minister without portfolio) also received awards from the Russian authorities.
Bajatovic is vice-chair of the SPS Main Board and CEO of the national natural gas supplier Srbijagas which imports Russian gas. Bajatovic and Srbijagas are alleged to have close ties to the political establishment in Moscow. He was given an award for contributing to international cooperation. The award was presented to him by Russia’s Ambassador in Belgrade Alexander Bocan-Harchenko.
Popovic, a former cabinet minister charged with innovation and technological development, is known to have links to the Russian business community as an entrepreneur. He was presented an award for services in the energy industry which was presented in Moscow by Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulyginov. Popovic was the first foreign national given that award.
Source: N1
