Serbian Speaker: Serbia to Look After Its Own Interests in Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Ivica Dacic

Serbian Speaker Ivica Dacic said on Feb. 25 that Serbia needed to look exclusively after its own interests with regard to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

“It is not our duty to act according to other people’s expectations. The West expects us to condemn Russia and introduce sanctions against it. Russia probably expects us to acknowledge and praise everything it did and probably recognize what Russia has already recognized,” Dacic told reporters in the Palace of Serbia.

The speaker underlined that Serbia’s role was not to fight in a war with Russia, or Ukraine, nor to support either of them, but decide what was best for Serbia. “The war hasn't engulfed Serbia. Everything would have been fine if they hadn't decided to try to convince us that it is a blatant violation of international law and territorial integrity, as if we were naïve and stupid. As if nothing happened in the territory of the former Yugoslavia and Serbia, and as if condemning Russia now can bring Kosovo back,” Dacic said.

Dacic said that a decision to impose sanctions on Russia would harm relations with Russia and China and “cut the branch that Serbia is sitting on and protecting its national interests.” “I believe the decision is the best possible. The European Union might have been happier had we condemned Russia,” Dacic said.