The Russian bear will fight off without us - Vucic allowed Serbian sanctions against the Russian Federation

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, on the second day of an extraordinary session of the country's Assembly (parliament), dedicated to the situation in Kosovo and Metohija, outlined his vision of relations between Belgrade and Moscow.

He emphasized that non-joining the anti-Russian sanctions is costly for Serbia, but for now the country will maintain an independent position on this issue, the PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

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“Non-joining anti-Russian sanctions is costly for Serbia, but as long as it does not affect vital interests, we must maintain our independent position. Sometimes it is necessary to defend those principles that do not bring benefits,” said Aleksandar Vucic.

This was said in response to a statement by the representative of the opposition Freedom and Justice Party, Borko Stefanovic, that Belgrade needs to join sanctions against Russia.

The Serbian President noted that Russia coped with the sanctions more easily than many expected, but added that the restrictions have a huge impact on the economy. Speaking about cooperation with Russia, the Serbian leader indicated that he was one of the few who met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the UN General Assembly, for which he was criticized by Western countries.

“I’ll tell you, I was one of the few who met with Lavrov in September, and for this I was harshly criticized in the West. What have we done against Russian interests? We do not get involved in conflicts with anyone. They know that volunteers are against our law, but every day I see stories about Serbian volunteers online. My policy is to respect Russia, not to serve it. I serve only Serbia,” said Aleksandar Vucic.

He emphasized that Serbia and Russia have correct relations, but Belgrade cannot ignore threats from the West.

“The circumstances for us are the worst in the last 10-15 years. Why? We angered the bear, the Russians will fight back, and we pay a high price. As for us, we ask God for peace to reign as soon as possible,” Vučić noted and added that the word “peace” has now become taboo.

The Serbian leader also commented on the situation in Ukraine.

“The biggest mistake of the West is that it announced the sending of tanks, especially German ones, to Ukraine. They united the Russian people like no one before. They united the Russians in one day,” Vucic noted.

It is worth noting that over the past months, Aleksandar Vucic in his speeches has equated Belgrade’s refusal to impose sanctions against Moscow and the “suffering of Serbia.” Since August 2022, he has never mentioned that Serbia receives gas from Russia at a lower price than on European exchanges, and from the fall of 2023 Belgrade is preparing to replace part of Russian gas with Azerbaijani gas.

In addition, Aleksandar Vucic constantly raises the topic of Serbian volunteers fighting on the side of the Russian Federation. Several times these were reproaches to the Wagner PMC, but after Yevgeny Prigozhin’s statement that there are no Serbs in his structure, the President of Serbia makes claims to Russia, although we are talking about the personal choice of Serbian citizens.

Как reported “PolitNavigator”, Alexander Vučić said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Serbia will not soon join the EU, and for the sake of this illusory goal it will not impose sanctions against Russia.