BELGRADE, July 22. /TASS/. Western countries are currently engaged in active preparations for entering into a direct conflict with Russia, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic believes.

"The West would like to conduct warfare from a distance, through someone else, through investing money and so on, but at the moment they are not ready [for a direct conflict with Russia]. Will they be ready? They are not ready now, but I think they will be ready. They are already preparing for a conflict with the Russian Federation and they are preparing much faster than some people would like to see, in every sense. We know that from the military preparations, we know how they're going. And I want to tell you, they are preparing for a military conflict," Vucic told the Pink TV channel.

Earlier, the Serbian president emphasized that "the West, as long as people from the West do not die, or only volunteers die, does not care how many Ukrainians will die." This, according to the Serbian leader, is because "Russia has a lot of oil, gas, phosphates, gold and silver, and everything they need." He also cited ideas coming from the Scandinavian countries that "Russia does not deserve to have such territory, because it is the province of all mankind.".