Belgrade, Serbia ¨C The Balkan Peninsula is a destination that I have always wished to visit as the region has historically faced threats from three different major powers: the German or West European Catholic forces from the northwest; Russia from the northeast; and the Islamic Ottoman Empire from the south.
Sadly, it has been a corridor for aggression and carnage for more than two millennia.
At the time of the writing of this commentary, I was visiting Serbia after spending a night in Moldova. Although being a regional power located at the center of the Balkan Peninsula, Serbia¡¯s geopolitical position has been one of tragedy and misfortune. In fact, the former Serbian Orthodox kingdom has been at the crossroads of these east-west and north-south invasion routes since ancient times, when empires and kingdoms passed through as they vied for regional or global hegemony.
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