Open source

Serbia does not plan to join the EU anti-Russian sanctions and expects the early lifting of them. Ivica Dacic, the Foreign Minister and Vice Prime Minister of Serbia claimed this to the Russian newspaper Izvestiya.

‘We want to keep the overall cooperation and friendly relations in political, economic, science, cultural spheres and later in security, defense and military industry spheres with Russia. And we will continue to do it in future. Serbia remains to be consistent in its policy and we will not join the EU anti-Russian sanctions. Moreover, we expect and want the lifting of the sanctions against Russia as soon as possible’, he emphasized.

According to Dacic, Serbia ‘certainly face the consequences of such decision’.

‘Serbia wants to join the EU but we will never take on our national interests and never introduce the sanctions against our friends’, he noted.

In recent interviews with Serbian media, Ukraine's Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Alexandrovich said that Russia is using Serbia to destabilize the situation in the region, in particular, encouraging separatism in Bosnia and trying to influence Macedonia. The ambassador also mentioned the Serbian mercenaries fighting on the side of the Russian armed formations in Donbas.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia accused the Ukrainian ambassador in the intentions to harm the friendly relations between Moscow and Belgrade. Alexandrovych can be expelled out from Serbia and called persona non-grata.

Later Foreign Minister of Ukraine called Alexandrovych for consultation. It was decided that Ukraine will appeal to the European friends and partners due to the issue of the Serbian mercenaries and ties to occupied Crimea.

Serbia immediately called its ambassador to Ukraine for the consultation after this.

Later Aleksandar Vucic, the President of Serbia claimed that it is necessary to solve the diplomatic conflict with Ukraine and continue to develop the friendly relation between the countries.