“Blackmail” against Serbia could lead to Belgrade being asked first to “just impose sanctions” against Russia, and then “just arm” Ukraine, after which “just give infantry for conflicts” with Russia, Vulin said
Aleksandar Vulin
Serbia is required to impose sanctions against Russia, then, as part of the policy of “blackmail”; the level of requests will increase, but Belgrade intends to continue pursuing an independent policy, Serbian Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin said on Pink TV. His words are quoted on the ministry's website.
“Usually, all blackmail starts with the fact that let's just impose sanctions against Russia, and then let's just recognize Kosovo, and then just give up the Republika Srpska, and then just arm Ukraine , and then let's just give infantry for conflicts with Russia, — considers the minister.
Vulin also commented on the words of Vice-President Zorana Mihajlovic, who spoke about the expectation of a “clearer” attitudes towards the conflict in Ukraine from the future government of Serbia, noting that Belgrade “does not have time to look into the past, because the world is changing.”
“What is not clear to you? What is not clear to you? We are more than clear when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine. We respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, but we will not impose sanctions against the Russian Federation, what is not clear? the minister asked. He continued: “Did we want to be part of the conflict between the West and Russia? Did we want to forget all those decades when Russia supported us? Do we want to forget all these centuries of Slavic brotherhood?»
The Serbian minister expressed confidence that the European Union and the United States do not respect the sovereignty and integrity of the republic. If Washington and Brussels see the principle of territorial integrity as a key policy, the Interior Minister continued, they should “start with Serbia.”
“First withdraw the recognition of Kosovo, then apologize: united Serbia, we were wrong to bomb you, sorry for the children we killed, sorry for what we did to you, we will start by correcting our mistakes,” — summoned Vulin.
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He also advised “not to ask Serbia to be a foot soldier of the NATO pact, so that Serbia would be the one to come into conflict with Russia.” The minister stressed that official Belgrade does not intend to conflict with Moscow and “enter into other people's wars”, being “someone's foot soldiers”.
The Serbian authorities have previously declared their readiness to resist the introduction of restrictive measures against Russia, in mid-May, the President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vucic, said that Belgrade would do this “as long as it can.” He noted that the country is already facing the consequences of its policies. The President of Serbia assured that Belgrade's position is not Russophobic or pro-Western, despite being surrounded by NATO countries.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during his visit to Serbia “clearly and sharply” asked to join EU sanctions. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic in early June called on the Serbian authorities to stop “sitting on two chairs” and take a position on sanctions. He said that it is time for Belgrade to decide on the choice of a side if it has aspirations for European integration. In response, Vučić noted the mentoring tone of Plenković's statement. The President lamented: “They don’t say: I would like our friends from Serbia to be with us in something. These would be different words.
In mid-June, Vucic said that Serbia would not be able to import Russian oil due to EU sanctions from November 1. “And who knows what sanctions will be introduced by then,” — he added.
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