Foreign Minister: Sanctions against Russia Possible If Economy, People Suffer

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, Belgrade, Belgrade, Feb.22 2023 (Photo: Dijana Vukomanovic)

Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on March 26 that Serbia was leaving open the option of changing its decision on not imposing sanctions against Russia over its attack on Ukraine if the Serbian economy and people began to suffer irreparable damage.

"Since the decision [of the National Security Council] is still in effect that means that is not yet the case yet," Dacic told the Kurir daily, adding that it was in Serbia's interest not to impose sanctions against Russia, but that the decision's impact on the Serbian economy was being monitored.

According to him, aside from pressure on Serbia for not introducing sanctions against Russia, foreign trade between the two countries has gone down, while "in some Western countries that introduced sanctions against Russia it is up."

Commenting on a statement calling for sanctions against Russia made by Serbian Economy Minister Rade Basta, whose party Unified Serbia is part of a coalition with Dacic's Socialist Party of Serbia, Dacic reiterated that his party and all of its members in the cabinet fully backed the National Security Council's decision and state policy. "As long as our decision and our policy on sanctions are in force, we will follow them consistently," he said.