BELGRADE, February 28. /TASS/. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who will take part in the Ukraine-Southeastern Europe summit in Tirana, Albania, will demand that the participants exclude those clauses from the final document that explicitly state the need to further counter Russia, the Vecernje Novosti newspaper reported.
Specifically, according to the newspaper, the Serbian president will insist on striking a paragraph containing anti-Russian sanctions from the final document, as well as the section of the draft declaration stating that Russia exerts a negative influence on the countries of the region.
Vecernje Novosti also notes that Vucic’s demands will additionally concern the declaration wording about the summit participants, as it currently describes Kosovo as a country.
Vucic repeatedly emphasized that Serbia was ready to implement all commitments it made earlier, and that Belgrade was aiming at finding compromises for normalizing relations with Pristina under the condition that any affirmation of Kosovo’s independence or potential UN membership be deemed inadmissible.
After the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, Vucic said in an address to the nation following a meeting of the Serbian Security Council that his country supported the territorial integrity of Ukraine but would not impose sanctions on Russia. He said the Balkan nation was temporarily halting military and police exercises with all foreign partners. Vucic said that Serbia considered Russia and Ukraine brotherly nations and regretted the events in eastern Europe. He also said that Belgrade was ready to provide humanitarian aid to Kiev.