MOSCOW, June 18. /TASS/. Russia and Serbia maintain "special relations," which were able to withstand the acute crisis in Europe, prominent Russian lawmaker and head of the State Duma International Affairs Committee Alexey Pushkov said.
The parliamentarian who returned from Belgrade the other day told TASS that his trip to Serbia and consultations with the country’s leaders had "confirmed that Russia and Serbia maintained special relations deeply rooted in history, civilization and cultural closeness of the two peoples, but which were also linked to the two countries’ national interests."
Pushkov recalled that Serbia was the only country in Continental Europe that had not joined the EU sanctions against Russia. "Although Serbia is a candidate for EU membership, it confirms - and this has been reiterated in a number of statements by the country’s leaders - that the issue of Serbia’s joining the anti-Russian sanctions is not even considered," he said.
The head of the Duma committee noted that Moscow appreciated Serbia’s stance, because "it shows that, despite substantial pressure exerted on the authorities in Belgrade on the sanctions issue and on contacts with Russia, Moscow and Belgrade maintain special relations which withstood the acute political crisis in Europe."