Vucic acknowledged that Serbia had resisted aligning itself with the rest of Europe in imposing sanctions on Russia, but he did say that Belgrade had repeatedly condemned the invasion of Ukraine.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has denied having close ties with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putiny has rejected the suggestion that his country is a “Trojan horse” for Moscow.
In his speech at the GLOBESEC security conference In Prague, Vucic said that had not met or spoken with Putin in the more than two years since what Russia invaded Ukraine.
“Yeah, We traditionally have a very good relationship and we do not hide it. And I am not ashamed of it with Russia. It has always been this way between Serbs and Russians and we are the only country in Europe that did not impose sanctions on Russia. And as you can see, I am not afraid to say it openly,” he stated. “No one in Europe agrees with me on this issue, but everyone in Europe understands my position.”
A productive meeting with Von der Leyen at GLOBESEC
Belgrade had repeatedly condemned the invasion of Ukraine on international platforms such as the UN General Assembly. Serbia y Türkiye are the only EU candidate countries that They have refused to impose sanctions on Russia.
“Five years ago, 30% of our tourism revenue came from Russia. It was hard to adopt sanctions against Russia and follow the EU Council. It was hard, but we did it,” said Montenegrin President Jakov Milatović. Montenegro It is also a candidate country for the EU.
Vučić said he had had a “great” conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, but admitted that Serbia was unlikely to become an EU member state in 2028the date on which some other Western Balkan countries hope to join the bloc.
“I don’t think we will be part of the European Union in 2028, because there are many issues. First of all, here we have an interest of the European Union, which are different from time to time to our interests. And I think that if some of us could become members of the EU, could not happen before 2030. But it’s just my assessment,” she said.
Serbia must also align itself in foreign policy if it wants to be part of the EU
Serbia, which became EU candidate country in 2012has made little progress in the areas of rule of law and democratic reforms, which are the main preconditions for entry into the 27-nation bloc.
Belgrade too must align its foreign policy with that of the EU, which would include imposing sanctions on Russia.
During the protests last year after two mass shootingscalls for stricter gun control soon morphed into anti-government protests.
The protesters were angry at the democratic retreat of the Vucic Government, who was accused of increasing authoritarianismcorruption and having links to organized crime.
The latest Freedom House report places Serbia’s political rights score at 18 out of a possible 40which places it in the category of partially free hybrid regimes, with a downward trend towards authoritarianism.
