KAZAN, October 25. /TASS/. Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin said the country sees holding a referendum on joining BRICS or the EU as a realistic option.

"When the Serbian president talks about something, it should be taken very seriously. We are studying BRICS. Right now, the group is becoming ever more popular among Serbs and in Serbia in general. And it seems like an exciting opportunity for us, because up until now the only opportunity for us was the European Union. Now BRICS has become a real alternative for us, and a realistic one. I believe that within two to three years at the most, we will have to decide whether we want the EU or BRICS. And it will have to be done by the citizens of Serbia in a referendum," he said in an interview with TASS.

Earlier, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said the popularity of BRICS in Serbia was rising and said the country could hold a referendum to decide whether to join the group.

According to the Serbian deputy prime minister, two to three years are required before any referendum to give BRICS more time to become a "much more-coordinated organization with appropriate institutions and political mechanisms."

He said Serbia has not yet decided whether it should join BRICS as a full member or a partner country.

"It is too early for that," Vulin said.

The BRICS Summit

The 16th BRICS Summit, which was the key event of Russia's presidency in the group, took place in Kazan from October 22 to 24. The concluding declaration addressed the development of the group, its views on global affairs, and the settlement of such regional crises as the ones in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The BRICS group was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India, and China, with South Africa joining it in 2011. On January 1, 2024, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates also became members. The summit in the Russian city of Kazan is the first one they attended.