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Top diplomat says Serbia cannot sign off on Crimean Platform declaration

Earlier, the Serbian prime minister Ana Brnabic said that Belgrade was ready to support Kiev on issues of European integration and take part in the post-conflict restoration in Ukraine

BELGRADE, August 25. /TASS/. Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic’s participation in the Crimean Platform forum did not mean that she had to sign its final declaration, since it is unacceptable for Belgrade, Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic said on Friday.

"There are a lot of machinations around the topic of the so-called Crimean Platform, that Serbia has allegedly joined. Serbia has not joined the Crimean Platform or its declaration. The prime minister took part in this event via a video address. We did not support the Crimean Platform’s declaration because it goes far beyond the limits that are acceptable for us," he said in an interview with the Pink television channel.

In her video address, the Serbian prime minister said that Belgrade was ready to support Kiev on issues of European integration and take part in the post-conflict restoration in Ukraine.

Ukraine and the West refused to recognize the outcome of the 2014 referendum on Crimea’s reunification with Russia, which was held in compliance with relevant international norms, instead launching an international campaign seeking to discredit it. Along with the sanctions imposed both on Russia and on companies doing business with Crimea and on individuals visiting it, they organized an annual forum, the Crimean Platform, which is geared to coordinate international efforts to return Crimea back to Ukraine. The first such forum was held on August 23, 2021 in Kiev. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slammed the Ukraine-initiated meeting as a coven where the West will be seeking to continue fostering neo-Nazi and racist sentiment of the current Ukrainian authorities.

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Military operation in Ukraine

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