Petition against Sanctions to Russia Presented in Belgrade

BETAPHOTO/MILAN OBRADOVIC

A petition against imposing sanctions on Russia was presented in Belgrade on April 18, after the collection of signatures by over 200 public figures, including the academicians Matija Beckovic, Kosta Cavoski and Vasilije Kresti, Serbian Orthodox Church bishops Irinej and David, the filmmaker Emir Kusturica and a former ambassador to Russia Slavenko Terzic.

The petition asks Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, the cabinet and "the most important institutions of the Serb people" to reject "pressure and blackmail from the West" and not impose sanctions on Russia. According to the architects of the petition, the "closest ties" connect the Serb and Russian peoples and a "lasting alliance" with that nation is the only guarantee today of the preservation of the integrity of Serbia, i.e. Kosovo and Metohija remaining within its borders, as it is the only guarantor of the preservation of the  constitutional standing of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina as defined by the Dayton Accords.

The signatories voiced the hope that the Ukrainian people would "reject" the Western allies that are pushing them into a conflict with their "Slavic brethren" for their own selfish interests. They added that no political organizations were behind the petition and announced that a second round of signatories would be released on May 9, Victory Day.

According to academician Matija Beckovic, Serbia must not allow itself the "humiliation" of sanctions against Russia. Milo Lompar, a professor at the Belgrade Faculty of Philology, said that Serbia was being asked to join the sanctions against Russia "in order to side with the Western interpretation of the crisis in Ukraine."