BELGRADE, April 18. /TASS/. About 200 Serbian people of science and arts have signed a petition against imposing anti-Russian sanctions. The petition was presented at a news conference at the Serbian Union of Journalists, a TASS correspondent reported on Monday.
"We express our all-round solidarity with the Russian people and express all-round support in its struggle for the right to live, for freedom, political, economic and civilizational independence and national unity. We hope the Ukrainians will refuse from Western advisers and common sense and peace will win the upper hand. We demand President Aleksandar Vucic withstand the West’s pressure and blackmail so that the Serbian government does not impose sanctions against Russia and doesn’t endanger economic, military, political, cultural and financial cooperation between the two countries because cooperation with Russia is the only guarantee that Kosovo and Metohija will stay within Serbian and that the Republic of Srpska [within Bosnia-Herzegovina] will preserve its Dayton status," Professor Branimir Nesic read out the petition.
According to the organizers of the news conference, the petition was signed around 200 people in a span of 72 hours and the number of those willing to support it continues to grow. Bearing this in mind, it was decided to present an extended list of signatories by May 9, Victory Day.
Earlier, several rallies in support for Russia were organized in Serbia, the Republic of Srpska (a Bosnia-Herzegovina entity), and in Montenegro. The biggest rallies were held om March 4 and April 15 in Belgrade.
On April 15, a mass rally in support for Russia was held the monument to Russian Emperor Nicholas II in downtown Belgrade. Participants carried the flags of Russia, Serbia, Novorossiya, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. People protested against excluding Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council and Serbia’s voting for it under the Western pressure. The rally’s slogan was Not In My Name to show that Serbians do not support anti-Russian steps within the United Nations.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help by the heads of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories, but aimed to demilitarize and denazify the country.
Following this step, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and several other countries announced sanctions against Russia individuals and legal entities.