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Serbian president’s words on Turkish Stream, sanctions "taken out of context" — adviser

The adviser commented on some media reports that Nikolic allegedly excluded the possibility of implementing the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project on the Serbian territory

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic Oksana Toskich/TASS

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic

© Oksana Toskich/TASS

BELGRADE, May 8. /TASS/. Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic’s words on the Moscow-proposed Turkish Stream gas pipeline project and Belgrade’s possible joining the sanctions against Russia cited by Russian media were "misunderstood" and "taken out of context," presidential adviser Stanislava Pak-Stankovic said on Friday.

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The adviser commented on some media reports that Nikolic allegedly excluded the possibility of implementing the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project on the Serbian territory.

The Serbian president "only said that it would be far more advantageous for Serbia to receive gas via the South Stream pipe," the adviser said.

"It clearly follows from the original statement that the president didn’t say that this project would not go ahead but he said that this pipeline can guarantee our energy stability but instead of profits that Serbia could receive from the South Stream project implementation, the Turkish Stream would entail higher costs for it," the Serbian president’s press office said in a statement sent to TASS.

Pak-Stankovic also commented on Belgrade’s possible joining of anti-Russian sanctions.

Nikolic, in particular, said Serbia would be obliged to follow the common EU policy, including the anti-Russian sanctions, after joining the European Union.

"We outlined our position to European officials that we now disagree with the imposition of sanctions against Russia but we’ll be obliged to pursue common foreign policy when we become an EU member," the Serbian president said in an interview with media organizations.

In her comments on Nikolic’s statement, the presidential adviser said the Serbian president’s stance on anti-Russian sanctions had long been known as he was an opponent of this policy.

When asked about whether the media reports were a misunderstanding, she said: "Absolutely."

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Sanctions vs. Russia Serbia Turkish Stream

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