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Vucic speaks against anti-Russian provisions of Athens summit declaration

"We cannot say ad personam who is a criminal. We are neither prosecutors nor judges," the Serbian president added

BELGRADE, August 22. /TASS/. Serbia is not ready to support anything that could escalate the situation around the Ukrainian conflict, so that is why it objected to the relevant provisions of the final declaration of the Athens summit from the Western Balkan countries, Ukraine and Moldova, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday.

"They all demanded a sharper narrative and stronger wording. As a small country, we cannot change what big countries do, but we asked not to reflect such things, whether we like them or not - this is not how things are done in politics - in the declaration and we succeeded," he said, commenting on the document where the participants in the summit expressed support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and condemned Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.

He warned against stigmatizing or accusing anyone, since it is up to special bodies to accuse. "We cannot say ad personam who is a criminal. We are neither prosecutors nor judges. I pointed to this from the point of view of the law. So, we did our utmost to defend our interests," Vucic stressed.

On the sidelines of the summit, Vucic met with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky to tell him that Belgrade respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity and expects the same from Kiev.

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