Serbian President Vucic denounces Russian occupation of Crimea and Donbas

A dog urinates on a wall with a picture of Putin. Serbia, April 2, 2022
A dog urinates on a wall with a picture of Putin. Serbia, April 2, 2022
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“We said from the beginning that we cannot support Russia's invasion of Ukraine,” Vucic said in an interview with Bloomberg on Jan. 18.

“For us Crimea is Ukraine, Donbass is Ukraine – it will remain so.”

Vucic suggested that the worst is yet to come in Russia's war against Ukraine. The president added that he hadn’t spoken with Putin for “many months.”

He stressed that his government doesn't always agree with Moscow’s foreign policy.

“We aren’t always happy with some of their positions,” the president added.

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“We traditionally have good relations, but this doesn’t mean that we support every single decision or most of the decisions that come from the Kremlin.”

At the same time, Vucic said he was grateful to Russia for its support of Serbia regarding Kosovo, citing it as the reason why Serbia cannot support economic sanctions against Moscow.

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Vucic is also convinced that the citizens of Serbia will support the country's movement to the west.

“I know that the EU is our path; there is no other way,” he concluded.

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Serbia is seeking to join the EU and has been criticized by foreign diplomats for refusing to impose sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

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At the same time, Serbia didn’t recognize the results of Russian pseudo-referendums in the partially occupied Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts.

Earlier media reports suggested the German government demanded Vucic to decide on his geopolitical course: either it’s joining the EU – or rapprochement with Russia.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine