He added that it was important for as many people as possible to express their solidarity with Ukraine and for as many countries as possible to join the sanctions, because – in addition to arming – this could help Kyiv to preserve its independence and territorial integrity. He expressed the hope that the candidate countries for membership of the European Union will join the sanctions.
Serbia condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the United Nations General Assembly, but did not join the international sanctions, which is explained by the country’s leadership through cultural, religious and historical ties between Serbia and Russia and economic dependence, since Serbia is 100 percent dependent on Russian natural gas. .
In response to Olaf Scholz’s request, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic asked the difference between attacking Serbia without UN Security Council approval and attacking Ukraine without UN Security Council approval. Aleksandar Vucic alluded to the fact that in 1999, during the Serbian conflict in Kosovo, NATO launched a series of air strikes against then-Yugoslavia without the approval of the UN Security Council to stop the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo. “We Serbs remember the sanctions. But let’s not forget that we have had a different relationship with the Russian side for centuries. But we were fair and condemned the attack on Ukraine. I fully understood the German Chancellor’s requests. He asked that he do it (the Serbian president emphasized “the implementation of sanctions)” as soon as possible We will inform the chancellor of our future decisions.”
Serbia has been a candidate country for EU membership since 2014, but it has not cut ties with Russia and China.
During the joint press conference, Aleksandar Vucic noted that during his visit to the Western Balkans, the German chancellor brought new hope to the whole region, because he wanted everyone to be heard and he wanted the enlargement of the European Union to be a perspective for every country.
According to Olaf Schultz, accession to the EU should be more dynamic, and citizens should know that the work done during the accession process pays off. “The European Union can only succeed in the future world as a whole,” he said.
The German chancellor also noted that reform of the Serbian judicial system is going well, but that other steps are needed, and the dialogue with Pristina needs to be revived. In this context, the Serbian President expressed his surprise that anyone would expect Serbia and Kosovo to mutually recognize each other’s independence. “I heard about this for the first time today. So far, we only talked about the normalization of the relationship. (.) As much as you love the unity of Ukraine, we also love the unity of Serbia,” emphasized the head of state.
Kosovo gained independence from Serbia in 2008, but Belgrade has not recognized it since and still considers its Albanian-majority territory the Southern Province.
Cover Photo: Getty Images
