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Serbs see Putin as most respected foreign leader, ex-intel chief says

"His bravery and perseverance appeal to the Serbs and they appreciate in particular the fact that he does not abandon traditional values such as God, the nation and the family," Aleksandar Vulin pointed out

BELGRADE, March 19. /TASS/. Serbian citizens see Russian President Vladimir Putin as the most respected foreign leader, Aleksandar Vulin, former director of Serbia’s Security Information Agency and leader of the Movement of Socialists, said.

"Of all foreign statesmen, the Serbs support Russian President Vladimir Putin the most. His bravery and perseverance appeal to them and they appreciate in particular the fact that he does not abandon traditional values such as God, the nation and the family," Vulin pointed out in an interview with Russia’s National Defense magazine.

"We remember that back in 2015, President Putin, at [Serbian] President [Aleksandar] Vucic’s request, vetoed a UK-initiated draft UN Security Council resolution declaring the Serbs the first nation in modern history guilty of genocide," he noted.

"Serbia also values Russia’s firm position on Kosovo and Metohija, as well as our economic cooperation," Vulin concluded.

UN resolution

On July 8, 2015, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution related to the 1995 Srebrenica tragedy. The document described the killing of about 8,000 Bosniak Muslims in the enclave as an act of genocide and emphasized that denial of the fact was preventing reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Russia’s then-Permanent Representative to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, warned against putting the resolution to a vote, saying that it threatened to exacerbate the situation in Bosnia in Herzegovina, as well as across the Balkans.

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Vladimir Putin Serbia

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