Did Bloomberg push fake news about Serbia's future ties to Russia?
Alex Christoforou
3 minutes
Good propaganda is not about what you say, but about what you omit.
In the case of Serbia, and recent statements from it's new PM Ana Brnabic, EU cheerleading and Russian downgrading may have been the exact context Bloomberg was looking to push to its readers.
Two days ago The Duran reported on a Bloomberg report that Serbia's Prime Minister, Ana Brnabic, said she'd continue a path started by her predecessor, President Aleksandar Vucic, to make the country ready for EU membership by the time her term ends in 2020.
Bloomberg reported that Ana Brnabic said, "if Serbia is forced to choose between closer ties with Russia and joining the European Union, it will side with the latter, the country's new prime minister said."
According to Bloomberg, Brnabic said sentiments towards Russia can't be disregarded, "but our strategic path is the EU.''
"The EU is where we're going – that's clear.''
"We do have emotional ties with Russia because of tradition, culture and religion. There are many people in Serbia who completely perceive Russia as our big brother, our protector."
Bloomberg reported that "Brnabic's statement was the clearest yet on the Balkan state's direction as it seeks to re-integrate itself with western Europe while keeping hold of its tight relationship with Russia."
Now reports from Serbia and Russia show that PM Brnabic's words were taken out of context by Bloomberg, with much of her statements about Serbia's relations with Russia, and policy towards the EU, conspicuously omitted by the US mainstream media outlet.
The Serbian PM proved this point by passing along a full transcript of her recent interview with Bloomberg to Russia's ambassador in Belgrade, Aleksandr Chepurin.
The review of the Bloomberg transcript was announced on Thursday by Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
TASS reported late on Thursday that Zakharova said Chepurin met with Brnabic "to determine what exactly she said (during the interview)."
During her meeting with Chepurin, Brnabic "assured Russia's ambassador that her words about the country's alleged choice of the European Union (membership, over closer ties with Russia) were misinterpreted by US media," TASS reported, and quoted Zakharova as saying:
"The Serbian prime minister said her words had been misinterpreted by the US news agency, and handed over a full transcript of her interview with Bloomberg, which had no words attributed to her. We judge by these explanations."
