Serbia does not follow the West in sanctions against Russia

Once again, Serbia did not join the extension of sanctions against Russia. Instead of joining the West on this issue, Serbia chose not to break the alliance with its traditional partner.

After refusing to impose sanctions, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić leveled a series of accusations against the West for hypocrisy and tried to draw parallels between Kosovo and Ukraine.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, Vučić said Western countries had cited the principles of sovereignty and human rights when approving Kosovo’s status as an independent state.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 – nearly a decade after NATO helped drive Serb forces from the former province during a bloody war that killed an estimated 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians. The United States and most European Union countries have recognized Kosovo.

“They did not laugh out loud when the Russian president used the same words to justify his attack on Ukraine,” he said. “They forgot that they themselves used the same history, the same words and the same statements,” Vucic said of the West, where he says he is seeking membership. “The worst thing is that all those who are committing aggression against the Republic of Serbia today are advocating the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

Belgrade, along with its key allies China and Russia, has refused to recognize Kosovo’s independence.

Belgrade has sought to reconcile its traditional relations with Russia, including their shared Orthodox heritage and mutual antipathy toward NATO.

In this UN meeting, Vucic conveyed the message of Russia, which constantly tries to link Kosovo with Ukraine and justify the aggression started in its neighbor.

Serbia has not even joined the extension of the European Union (EU) sanctions against Russia. The EU Council decision published on Friday extended sanctions against Russia for violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity for another 12 months.

Those sanctions include travel restrictions, asset freezes and a ban on providing funds or other economic resources to nearly 1,800 individuals and organizations.

Unlike Serbia, candidate countries such as North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine, Moldova, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, potential candidate Georgia, and EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway lined up after the decision to continue EU sanctions against Russia. /Geopost/