Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic told the American agency Bloomberg that Serbia is grateful to Moscow for its support in the Kosovo issue, but Serbia does not support aggression against Ukraine, Beta and Rador agencies quote.

Oleksandr VuchichPhoto: Andriy Tarfila / Shutterstock editorial / Profimedia

Vučić noted that in recent years he had dozens of meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but “didn’t communicate” with the Russian leader for several months. “From the very beginning, we have said that we are unable to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine. For us, Crimea is Ukraine, and Donbas is Ukraine, and it will remain so,” said Vucic.

Bloomberg notes that economically, Serbia has moved out of “Russia’s orbit”, that Serbian exports to Russia make up only 6% of Serbia’s total exports, and that the European Union is Serbia’s most important trading partner.

“However, Serbia stands out in Europe for its attitude towards Russia,” Bloomberg notes and reminds that even after the invasion of Ukraine, the Serbian airline Air Serbia did not cancel direct flights to Russia, and recently many Russians have come to Belgrade.

Vucic said that he is grateful to Russia for its support in the Kosovo issue, and this is the reason why Serbia cannot support the economic sanctions imposed on Moscow. “We have been under sanctions for eight years and do not consider this a solution,” said Vucic.

Speaking about the Kosovo issue, Vučić said that it is more realistic to move forward in small steps than to reach a broad agreement in a short time in which Serbia recognizes the independence of Kosovo.

“We need to change the situation on the ground in small steps, build trust between the two sides, and then see how we can solve other problems. We should not dream of something that we all know will not happen,” Vucic said.

Regarding Serbia’s accession to the EU, Vucic expressed his belief that the citizens of Serbia will vote for accession if a referendum is held on this issue, but “for this to happen, they must be convinced that accession is real.” “I know that the EU is our way. There is no other way,” Vucic said.

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