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Serbia will not impose sanctions on Russia, president says

According to Aleksandar Vucic, Belgrade will not "choose sides", despite the European Union’s calls on states seeking membership to align with Brussels in tightening economic restrictions against Russia

LONDON, April 21. /TASS/. Serbia will not introduce restrictions against Moscow, joining the West, as this will jeopardize the country’s national interests, President Aleksandar Vucic said in an interview with the Financial Times newspaper published on Thursday.

According to the president, Belgrade will not "choose sides", despite the European Union’s calls on states seeking membership to align with Brussels in tightening economic restrictions against Russia. "What do [Western countries] want? Leave all our national interests because someone needs something for themselves?" Vucic said.

"People talk about choosing sides. No, we have our own side, Serbia’s interests," he noted. "We were bombed by 19 NATO countries [in 1999] and sanctioned." "We have not imposed sanctions against anyone, because <...> we do not believe sanctions change anything. You can pressure and force Serbia, but this is our genuine opinion," the president added.