Serbia did not vote at the UN on returning Ukrainian children – Vučić, from subservience to Šešelj to Putin

Serbia’s absence in the UN General Assembly vote on a resolution condemning the forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia sparked strong reactions from Ukraine and foreign policy analysts in Belgrade.

The Ukrainian Embassy in Serbia told Radio Free Europe that the reason for not voting is that “Belgrade is pursuing its own national interests,” while warning that Russia is openly exerting energy pressure on Serbia.

“The Kremlin has begun openly blackmailing Serbia, delaying the resolution of energy supply issues,” the embassy stressed.

Ukraine expressed hope that Serbia, as a candidate country for EU membership, should support international efforts for peace, including the return of kidnapped Ukrainian children.

“We expect that the EU candidate country joins the common European policy towards the aggressor, Russia,” the statement said.

Serbia’s foreign policy is shameful and submissive to Putin

Reactions in Serbia have been strong and critical.

Experts speaking to the newspaper Danas say Serbia’s foreign policy is “shameful, unprincipled, and driven by fear of Moscow.”

They emphasize that Serbia today is so blackmailed that it dares not vote even on the most basic humanitarian issues.

MP Robert Kozma said that relocating Serbia’s UN Mission shows a lack of strategic orientation in foreign policy, and that every state decision is subordinated to preserving the ruling majority’s power.

He criticized the fact that Serbia, claiming EU integration, did not vote for a resolution proposed even by the European Union itself.

Aris Movsesian described the non-vote as an act contrary to basic human morality.

“We are not talking about sanctions, but human decency: voting to condemn child abduction. Abstaining does not protect Serbia’s interests, but Russia’s,” he said, adding that Belgrade is accepting Moscow’s energy blackmail.

Lawyer Aleksandar Olenik went further, saying that Serbia’s relationship with Russia is “slavish” and a result of President Aleksandar Vučić’s personal subservience to Vladimir Putin.

“Just as Vučić once viewed Šešelj as his master, he now views Putin. We are to blame for allowing personal pathology to become state policy,” he declared.

How did the resolution vote go?

Out of 193 UN member states:

91 voted in favor of the resolution for the immediate return of Ukrainian children;

11 voted against, including Russia, Belarus, and North Korea;

57 abstained.

Serbia and Turkey were the only EU candidate countries that did not vote at all. Meanwhile, all other Western Balkan countries – Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Albania – voted in favor.

The resolution calls on Russia to ensure the “immediate, safe and unconditional return” of Ukrainian children forcibly taken to Russian territory during the war.
/TheGeopost