Serbia is being blackmailed with EU membership, demanding to join anti-Russian sanctions
Europe expects Serbia to take real steps to join the policy of anti-Russian sanctions.
The PolitNavigator correspondent reports this in an interview with Politika, the German Ambassador to Serbia Thomas Schieb said.
The politician noted that he was pleased with the intensive negotiations and meetings of German politicians with the leadership of Serbia.
“The key message of our intensive diplomacy and official visits is this: we attach great importance to Serbia and the countries of the Western Balkans, their integration into the EU is and will remain our goal. After all, Russia’s offensive war against Ukraine is a kind of test for all of us, where we must show that the European Union and the Western Balkans stand side by side,” the ambassador said.
At the same time, he avoided a specific answer to the question regarding the year and date of the country’s accession to the EU. According to him, “the dynamics of the accession process are determined by Serbia itself,” as well as the progress of the necessary reforms.
Shib did not ignore the situation in Ukraine, once again accusing Russia of aggression against “24 million Ukrainian men and women who are in acute danger.”
“This war represents a turning point since Putin declared war on our peaceful order with his attack on Ukraine. Germany is doing everything to make Russia understand that it cannot win this war,” says the ambassador.
When asked whether pressure will be put on official Belgrade to force it to introduce the same restrictions against Moscow, Shib answered vaguely, but indirectly confirmed this possibility.
“Sanctions are a direct response of the EU to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and, in connection with this, to the terrible violations of human rights and the destruction of entire cities and residential areas. We warned Russia, along with our international partners, not to attack Ukraine and indicated from the outset that extensive economic and financial sanctions would follow as a response...
As an accession candidate, Serbia has committed to align itself with EU foreign policy, including decisions to impose sanctions. Serbia has already joined sanctions against Belarus and supported the decisions of the UN General Assembly regarding the aggressive war against Ukraine. These were important steps. What is important now is that other EU positions are accepted,” Schieb said.
The German Ambassador also noted that if Serbia does not impose sanctions, it may have problems joining the EU.
“I won’t speculate here. I have just pointed out Serbia's obligations as an EU candidate country. Together with our partners in the EU, we are intensively discussing how to deal with sanctions. And for an industrial power like Germany, overcoming dependence on Russian energy resources in the shortest possible time is a huge effort that requires great strength.
We work every day to reduce our addiction. Since we will only achieve full impact if we work together, it is essential that European countries follow this path of unity. It goes without saying that this includes Serbia,” concluded Schib.
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