U.S. Ambassador Says Hopes Serbia Will Introduce Sanctions Against Russia

Christopher Hill/BETAPHOTO/AMIR HAMZAGIC

U.S. Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill has said that today's Russia is "different" from the one in the past, that the Europeans and Americans understand that and that he hopes Serbia will understand that, too, and impose sanctions against Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

As a guest on a show called Intervju (Interview) on Insajder TV, Hill said that Serbia was under enormous pressure for not introducing sanctions against Russia and added that foreign policy harmonization was part of its path to the EU.

Talking about how Serbia is almost completely dependent on Russia where gas supply is concerned, Hill said that other energy sources needed to be found. "One is that Bulgarian connector which is functioning pretty well, there are also other ideas about bringing liquefied gas from other sources to Serbia. Frankly, I think Serbia is not in some horrible situation this winter. Serbia, like other countries, must prepare in the long term," said Hill.

When asked about the so-called "Franco-German plan for Kosovo," which among other things does not ask Serbia to recognize Kosovo's independence, rather not to oppose Pristina's admission to the U.N. and other international organizations, Hill replied that the U.S. supported the EU in the process of achieving a comprehensive normalization of relations between the two sides.

"If you're asking me whether the Americans would like the two countries to recognize each other - of course. We have to be honest and clear, many things have to be resolved before we get to that moment, starting from a more normalized approach, because at the moment an agreement on license plates barely exists," he said.

Asked about his opinion on the media scene in Serbia, Hill said he would like it if there was more pluralism in Serbian media.