When TASS picks up a Vučić quote - it means Moscow is listening carefully. And on 3 May 2026, most leading Russian portals carried a sentence from the Serbian president: „Relations between the EU and the US have reached the point of no return." The line was given to a Belgrade TV station, the occasion - the Pentagon's announcement that it will withdraw 5,000 American soldiers from Germany. The point - not the withdrawal itself, but its political reading.

Vučić is a politician who carefully measures what he says to whom. The phrase „point of no return" isn't a diplomatic slip. It isn't an emotional reaction. It's a deliberate formulation that he knew Moscow would value and pick up. The Kremlin has its own interest in that message - every crack between Berlin and Washington is a win for Moscow. That's why TASS, RIA Novosti and every major Russian portal put it up top.

The American decision itself to pull 5,000 troops out of Germany is not, on its own, a historic event. Similar moves have been made under previous US administrations. What makes this one different is the political context. Trump has been billing European allies for months. Threats of tariffs on European cars, statements that „NATO isn't working", sharp exchanges with Berlin and Brussels. The troop withdrawal lands as a symbolic confirmation of all of that.

Vučić warns that disagreements with Washington could hit the Serbian economy, politics and business climate. That's a realistic assessment. When Berlin and Washington are in a state of quiet war, the small countries pay first. The Balkans always depend on two centres - the investment comes from Germany, the security shield from America. When the two head in different directions, Skopje and Belgrade never know which one to follow.

This time, Moscow is in the game too. Russian media are carrying it for a different reason - not for information, but for narrative. The Kremlin has long waited for the West to show its disagreements openly. Now that Trump is opening the door, Moscow is moving to its own beat. The Balkans, as usual, will be forced to pick a side without being asked.

The real question isn't whether the EU and US will fall out - it's whether they have already fallen out, only quietly. The tariffs are there. The different lines on Ukraine are there. The different lines on Iran are there. The different lines on China are there. When Vučić says „point of no return", he may not be lying. He may just be saying out loud what other European leaders understand quietly - the West is no longer a single bloc, every election campaign on the ground confirms it, and the Balkans, when the new geopolitical map opens, will be forced to decide whether they stand with Berlin, with Washington, with Moscow, or somewhere in between.