Socialists, United Serbia Party Oppose Sanctions against Russia, Movement Dveri Demands Removal of Economy Minister from Office 

Belgrade Cars Drive Support Russia (BETAPHOTO/AMIR HAMZAGIC)

Socialist Party of Serbia leader Ivica Dacic, also serving as the Serbian foreign minister and deputy prime minister, has said that his party backs the position of the National Security Council and condemns violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, but opposes sanctions against Russia.  

“Such policy has been publicly conducted and presented by President Aleksandar Vucic and the Socialists strongly support it, honoring the position that Serbia’s national interest is of paramount importance and that the country’s future is our priority,” Dacic told the March 14 issue of Belgrade daily Politika.

On March 13, Economy Minister Rade Basta, a member of the United Serbia Party which ran in the latest election in coalition with the Socialists, demanded from the Serbian cabinet to have an urgent say on sanctions against Russia over its aggression on Ukraine. United Serbia Party leader Dragan Markovic Palma has said that Basta’s request for imposing sanctions against Russia is his personal stand, not the position of the party.

Serbian Movement Dveri leader Bosko Obradovic on March 14 said that Basta’s call on cabinet ministers to give their say on sanctions against Russia “cannot be accidental or unprovoked.” Obradovic added that “the only way the Serbian Government can prove that this is not its new foreign policy is to remove Basta from office. However, before sacking Basta it should be established whether this is his personal stand, which we doubt, or it rather serves to prepare the public for sanctions against Russia which will go hand in hand with [Belgrade’s] recognition of the so-called state of Kosovo,” Obradovic said in a written statement.