When autocrats seek legitimacy, they often travel in pairs. Such was the case when Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic traveled to Tbilisi in June. While this was the first visit by a Serbian head of state to Georgia, their two regimes already have much in common. They are both well practiced in the balancing act of courting Washington while hollowing out their democratic institutions and cozying up to America’s enemies.

With friends like Serbia and Georgia, Washington should spend less time offering concessions and more time asking whose side they are really on.