Ambassador Tolkach: Russian Aggression Also Affecting Serbia-Ukraine Relations

Volodymyr Tolkach (BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC)

Ukrainian Ambassador to Belgrade Volodymyr Tolkach has said there are currently some 7,000 Ukrainian refugees in Serbia whose independent life is impeded by months spent waiting for a work permit, and that he is working with the Serbian authorities to solve that problem.

In an interview with BETA on the occasion of the first anniversary of the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Tolkach said that, as a diplomat, he understood the reasons why Serbia was not imposing sanctions against Russia but that it was difficult for the Ukrainians who were at war to understand it.

He also said that Russia's aggression against Ukraine was affecting its relations with Serbia too, and told Serbian citizens "not to listen to the information coming from the outside but rather to use their own hearts and minds."

"Understandably, Russia is using its position of permanent member of the (U.N.) Security Council and influencing voting on resolutions pertaining to the territorial integrity of Serbia, your economy is dependent on Russian gas and oil, that is all understandable here in Belgrade, but if you go to Ukraine you will see Russian missiles, the death of our people, our defenders, and those arguments that I've mentioned cannot be accepted by Ukrainian citizens. It is difficult to understand, when you see the death of (your) father and mother, that some state does not want to influence Russia to stop the war," Tolkach told BETA.

He underscored that matters related to the aggression and to Ukraine's territorial integrity were currently in the top spot where Ukraine-Serbia relations were concerned as well. "Unfortunately, all other areas are impacted by that. We see that our trade has dropped to 25 percent. We must think positively and find ways to cooperate," said the ambassador.