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Over 75% of Serbians oppose anti-Russian sanctions, EU membership support declines — Vucic

Serbia’s place is on the European path but the country must preserve its independence in decision making, the Serbian President noted

BELGRADE, April 21. /TASS/. Over three quarters of the people of Serbia do not support imposing sanctions against Russia, while Brussels’ pressure on Serbia over this issue reduces the EU’s popularity among the people of the republic, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said at a press conference Thursday, citing a poll, carried out by Ipsos.

"The people in Serbia often hear words coming from the EU that mean pressure on the issue of Kosovo and Metohija <…> words that mean pressure on the issue of anti-Russian sanctions. The vast majority of the people are against it; you can see in this research that 76% of the people are against imposing sanctions, while 13% support imposing sanctions against Russia. When you see these numbers, it easy to explain, why such [reduction of EU’s popularity] happened," Vucic said.

The Serbian President underscored that "Serbia’s place is on the European path," but "the country must preserve its independence in decision making."

Earlier, Vucic said in his address to the nation that Serbia supports territorial integrity of Ukraine, but will not impose sanctions against Russia. He also stated that Serbia temporarily suspends army drills with all foreign partners. He noted that Serbia considers both Russia and Ukraine brotherly nations, regrets what is happening in Eastern Europe, and is ready to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine.