Russian ambassador in Belgrade: Serbia will not change its position towards Russia after the lithium agreement with the EU

Russian Ambassador Aleksandar Bocan Harchenko said that Serbia will not change its position on the non-imposition of sanctions against Russia and that Serbia’s cooperation in the field of lithium with the European Union is not an obstacle to the development of Russia’s relations with Serbia.

“I have never heard a questionable attitude from Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić that would lead us to believe that a change in Serbian policy is possible. I think it will stay that way,” Harchenko said when asked if Serbia would change its mind about sanctions against Russia.

He added that Russia and Serbia continue joint work in many areas.

“We continue to work together on the realization of our projects, it has to be accepted in difficult conditions, but we proceed step by step, there are also negotiations for new ventures.”

Harchenko said that he was “firmly convinced that Serbia will maintain its position under the current difficult conditions”.

When asked about the memorandum between the EU and Serbia on critical raw materials, he replied: “We are pursuing the essentials and this is certainly one of the key issues in economic, political and domestic life.”

“Such theses about a turnaround in Serbia come from those who use this memorandum and the issue of lithium for political purposes. Regarding the environmental aspect, President Vučić said that Serbia would not be harmed. “I had the impression that the president and the government take this issue very seriously,” said Harchenko.

Serbia and the European Union have reached an agreement on the extraction of lithium from a mine in Serbia. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz traveled to Belgrade to approve this agreement, stating that “lithium is just as important as oil used to be”.

The European Union is trying to reduce its dependence on Chinese imports, while Germany is Europe’s largest manufacturer of electric cars powered by lithium batteries. China’s lead in battery technology is seen as a threat to the German automotive sector

However, Serbia is an ally of China, which wants to expand its influence in Europe through countries such as Serbia and Hungary./The Geopost/