Serbia would be ready to support the European Union's anti-Russian sanctions if its membership in the bloc is on the horizon, Serbian Minister for European Integration Nemanja Starović said.
Points of attention
- Serbia's Minister for European Integration emphasizes the need for international recognition of Serbia's stance on the conflict and priorities in the region.
- Serbia's position reflects a complex balancing act between aligning with the EU's policies and safeguarding its interests and security in a volatile geopolitical landscape.
Serbia may change position on anti-Russian sanctions
As the Serbian minister assures, his country's authorities do not support the EU sanctions against Russia, since they "do not affect Russia at all, but the Serbian economy to a significant extent."
Another reason is that Serbia is not a member of the bloc and does not have access to the security system that membership in the Union provides.
Against this backdrop, Starović drew an analogy with the pandemic, after which Croatia received 22 billion euros from the EU recovery fund, while Serbia received "almost nothing." What is important to understand is that we are talking about 165 million euros.
Despite this, official Belgrade is determined to fully support EU sanctions "if EU membership is on the horizon," that is, a few months before the accession date.
Nemanja Starović also called on the international community not to ignore the fact that Serbia "from day one has clearly and unequivocally condemned" the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to him, Belgrade really supports Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
