Sergey Lavrov(BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV/MO)
The European Union (EU) is blackmailing Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in an effort to force him to align with the Union’s decisions on Russia, but he has bravely resisted the pressure for years, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.
“At this stage, the European Union is bullying him, quite simply blackmailing him. He has been bravely resisting that pressure for more than a year,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency on Aug. 14.
The Russian foreign minister claimed that the EU is pressing Serbia to recognize Kosovo’s independence and align itself with “all EU actions and decisions concerning Russia.” “President Vucic is having a hard time. He is a very experienced politician. And he remains committed to the path of European integration,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov said Russia is supplying Serbia with gas at highly favorable prices and has asked nothing from Belgrade in return, except that it would be “unacceptable for our Serbian brothers to take part in arming the Kyiv regime,” RIA Novosti reported. He underlined that Vucic’s decision to agree to “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s persistent requests to receive him” was probably an attempt on his part to ease EU pressure to some extent.
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