BELGRADE, November 1. /TASS/. Serbia will continue to seek closer ties with Europe, but will also maintain its traditional relations with Russia and China, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.

"We believe that Serbia should protect its European path more than, or as much as its traditional relations with Russia, China and everyone else. We should not, do not want, and will not abandon the European path," Vucic told reporters.

Vucic said in a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on October 31 that "the two biggest obstacles" for Serbia on its way to the EU at the moment are "Kosovo and Metohija and the sanctions on the Russian Federation."

The president said earlier that Serbia's independent stance and refusal to join the sanctions on Russia allowed the nation to bolster its reputation as a free and independent country. Vucic also said that the sanctions-related pressure made the situation very tense and ever more difficult. He vowed to tell the Serbs when their country would no longer be able to refrain from imposing sanctions.