MOSCOW, October 9. /TASS/. Cooperation with BRICS is an opportunity for Serbia to form an alliance with states that do not ask for anything and can offer more than Belgrade asks for, it is an alternative to the European Union (EU), Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin said in an interview with the National Defense magazine.

"The economic union of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, along with six recently added countries, represents an opportunity for Serbia to form an alliance with states that ask for nothing and can offer more than we seek, or rather, even more than we can take," he said.

BRICS benefits

"BRICS is not an alliance of states like the EU, but an organization that does not impose a single political condition on its members or candidates for membership," Vulin continued. "BRICS membership does not require laws to be written outside of Serbia. The BRICS countries do not demand that we change our political system, recognize Kosovo's independence, or give up Republika Srpska. We do not need to place power in the hands of the non-governmental sector, we do not have to fly the flag of Ukraine outside our embassies, or legalize same-sex marriages. It is not necessary to impose sanctions on anyone or leave control of a country's foreign policy to others in order to be a member of BRICS," he added.

"They are not asking anything from us, and perhaps we can economically cooperate with an organization that owns 51% of the world's gas, 47% of the world's oil, and has surpassed the G7 in terms of GDP," the Serbian deputy prime minister pointed out.

An alternative to the EU

"For Serbia, BRICS is an alternative to the European Union. I am convinced that there is no place for Serbia in the EU, at least it has not yet made much effort to accept us as a full member," Vulin said. "Serbia will not go to war with Russia just to become a member of the EU, and therefore it will not impose sanctions against Russia," he emphasized.

The deputy prime minister stated that Serbia, as a militarily neutral country, highly values cooperation with all its partners. "Serbia is ready to cooperate with all organizations in which friendly countries that respect our military neutrality play a key role, with whom we can collaborate based on the principles of mutual trust, equality, and partnership," Vulin concluded.