Serbian FM Says Belgrade Has Withdrawn Its Vote In Favor of the UN Resolution on Ukraine  

Marko Djuric (mfa.gov.rs)

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric has told the latest issue of Belgrade weekly NIN that the Serbian Mission to the United Nations (UN) has changed its vote in the UN General Assembly in favor of the UN Resolution affirming support to Ukraine and its territorial integrity, condemning Russia and explicitly requesting immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops.  

“Our Mission with the UN has changed its vote from “in favor” to “abstention” in the UN Secretariat and this puts an end to this matter,” Djuric said.

Asked what happened in the UN during the vote on the Ukraine-drafted Resolution, Djuric replied that the responsibility was primarily his own. 

“In the international arena, Serbia has been primarily guided by the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty. In seven previous cases, we voted in favor of documents containing even harsher wording, and it was in accordance with conclusions of the National Security Council from February 2022. It was then decided that the supreme principle of Serbia’s position in the UN would be the principle of territorial integrity and sovereignty of recognized countries,” Djuric specified. 

Following Serbia’s vote in favor of the Resolution initiated by Ukraine and backed by the European Union (EU) in the UN General Assembly, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that a mistake had been made and apologized to Serbia’s citizens. Djuric also apologized for Serbia’s vote in favor of the Ukraine-initiated Resolution. 

The following announcement from the Kremlin said that Russia had accepted Vucic’s apology for “a technical error” and “mistaken voting” on Ukraine in the UN General Assembly. 

On the occasion of the third anniversary of Russian invasion on Ukraine, the UN General Assembly on Feb. 24 adopted two resolutions on Ukraine – one drafted by Ukraine and its European allies, and the other initiated by the US that was passed only after undergoing significant changes, which eventually saw the US abstain from voting. 

The key difference between the two documents is that the text drafted by Ukraine and backed by the EU explicitly demanded immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine, while the US text did not mention “Russian invasion” nor “the integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders.” 

Serbia abstained from voting on the US-initiated resolution.