Serbian President Says World War III Has Begun
- 21.03.2026, 13:32
The Serbian president saw signs characteristic of the beginning of the previous two.
Serbian President Alexander Vucic has said World War III may have already begun, and he believes it will be extremely difficult to prevent a global conflict. "The struggle for oil, gas, minerals, rare metals and other raw materials has been going on for a long time. If you look at World Wars I and II, you will see that both started with regional conflicts. It was only later that larger military and political alliances formed and eventually clashed directly. Today we are witnessing something similar," he said in an interview with Berliner Zeitung.
Vucic said escalation can probably still be avoided, but he sees no easy way to do so, as "the interests of the major powers are too diverse and significant for anyone to simply back down." He also expressed the view that wars in Ukraine and the Middle East would almost inevitably lead to new conflicts. Iran's resistance to the United States, despite heavy losses, according to the Serbian president's assessment, "sends a signal to other states" by showing that they too can stand up to powers that "seem much stronger on paper."
With regard to the Ukrainian conflict, Vucic said that its end "is also not in sight." Russia, in his opinion, is unlikely to win the war, but it is unlikely to lose it, because "a nuclear-armed state cannot be defeated militarily."
The Serbian president's statements come amid his recent warnings about growing threats to Serbia itself. On March 14, Vucic said Croatia, Albania and the self-proclaimed Republic of Kosovo were preparing to attack the country. Arguing this claim, he referred to the trilateral declaration on defense cooperation signed in Tirana in March 2025. In the Serbian president's assessment, Croatia, Albania and Kosovo are waiting for the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Europe and the moment when a larger war breaks out in the Middle East to strike.
Earlier, on March 7, while presenting the national development strategy, Vucic warned of the inevitability of new and more serious military conflicts in the world. In October 2025, he noted that "everyone is preparing for war, and the only question is who belongs to which side." At the same time, he emphasized that Serbia maintains good relations with NATO, but maintains a policy of military neutrality.