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Without Russia’s support, Belgrade cannot hold on to Kosovo, Serbian speaker insists

Ivica Dacic noted that Serbia is hardly likely to stand up for its interests at the United Nations and if Russia doesn’t veto it, then the unrecognized Kosovo may join the UN

BELGRADE, March 31. /TASS/. Serbia may impose sanctions on Russia only if it is ready to give up Kosovo, Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia on a technical mandate Ivica Dacic said on Thursday.

"We should avoid an irrational and emotional attitude to the situation today. If we are ready to renounce Kosovo then we can introduce sanctions against Russia, if we are not, we cannot. <...> The sanctions against Russia will harm not Russia but Serbia. Russia has ‘survived’ Montenegro’s sanctions, it would survive any Serbian ones as well," the Tanjug news agency quoted him as saying.

The parliament speaker noted that Serbia is hardly likely to stand up for its interests at the United Nations and if Russia doesn’t veto it, then the unrecognized Kosovo may join the UN. He stressed that EU countries are pandering to Pristina while Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti brushes aside any agreements including the Brussels Agreement.

Earlier, when addressing the nation, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that Belgrade supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity yet wouldn’t introduce sanctions against Russia. He also stated that Serbia was temporarily suspending military and police drills with all foreign partners. He noted that Serbia considered both Russia and Ukraine fraternal states, and regretted the latest developments in Eastern Europe, while offering to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories. Following this, the US, the EU, the UK and a number of other countries announced the introduction of sanctions against Russian legal entities and private individuals.