With Russia as an ally, Serbia edges towards NATO

Serbian paratroopers descend to the ground holding Serbian and Russian (L) national flags during a training exercise in the village of Nikinci, west from Belgrade, Serbia, November 14, 2014. REUTERS/Marko Djurica/File Photo

BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbia is performing a delicate balancing act between its European aspirations, partnership with NATO and its centuries-old religious, ethnic and political alliance with Russia.

Belgrade is being wooed by the West which has sought to bring it into the fold since the fall of Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. Serbia is now a European Union membership candidate and the bloc is its top trade partner and benefactor.