Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, Institute for International Politics and Economics in Belgrade. September 26 2024(BETAPHOTO/Katarina Sremcevic)
Serbia joining the sanctions against Russia would by default lead to a halt in cooperation between the two countries, Russia’s ambassador in Belgrade, Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko, said on March 5.
“If a country joins the sanctions then there is no cooperation – the sanctions automatically put a stop to it. This has nothing to do with Moscow’s wishes,” the ambassador told the RTS public broadcaster and stressed that Russia wants to continue and develop its relations with Serbia.
Botsan-Kharchenko admitted that the volume of trade between Serbia and Russia has decreased, but attributed this directly to the West’s sanctions on Moscow.
“Serbia is surrounded by countries supporting the sanctions and that is why we are facing difficulties, primarily related to transport, logistics and financing,” the diplomat explained and underscored that “the most important thing is that Serbia has not joined the sanctions.”
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