Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia is pleased that Lavrov was not allowed to visit Belgrade
Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia, Minister of Mining and Energy Zorana Mihailovich supported the situation with the cancellation of the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
This was reported in the office of Mikhailovich, known for her pro-Western views, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“The very announcement of the visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov would be difficult for Serbia and for President Aleksandar Vucic. We're trying to survive energetically, financially and politically in a really difficult time, and I think the last thing we need is to deal with the world's problems behind our backs.
We constantly hear that Serbia is Russia’s best friend. If they are our friends because they say so, then they should not have planned a visit at this moment, so that we would not go to such an extreme that we would be asked to impose sanctions against them,” the minister said.
At the same time, in an interview with Euronews, when asked to comment on the cancellation of Lavrov’s visit, she replied that it was a good event.
“I think it is good that the Russian minister has not visited Serbia now, and we need to think about our path forward, and Serbia has clearly decided on the path to the EU, as President Vucic said earlier,” Mihajlovic said.
Serbian Interior Minister Alexander Vulin immediately reacted to this, saying that the inability of a friend of the Serbian state to come on a visit is very bad.
“Foreigners should never determine who our guests are and who our friends are. Over the past decades, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has proven in difficult situations that he is a friend of Serbia.
And what did those who prevented his visit, those who bombed Serbia, recognized the self-proclaimed Kosovo and its failure to comply with the Brussels Agreement, prove? Those who demand us to leave the Republika Srpska ignore Serbian victims and participate in attempts to overthrow President Aleksandar Vucic,” Vulin said in a statement.
He also added that friends are not determined for a short period of time.
“If we choose our friends according to everyday political circumstances, and if we allow foreigners to determine how and with whom we cooperate, the question arises: what next? Cancellation of elections and appointment of an assembly and government and renunciation of military neutrality?
Serbia is neither Russian, nor American, nor European country. Serbia is a state of all its citizens and only them, and therefore it will never be good if our friend does not come to us. And the force that threatens us would be greater than the value of freedom that we defend,” Vulin noted.
Let us remind you that the Russian plane with Lavrov on board was not allowed through the airspace of Croatia, North Macedonia and Montenegro.
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