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Vucic says will not recognize Kosovo, impose sanctions on Russia for EU membership

According to Vucic, pressure on Serbia is purely political

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic

© AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic

BELGRADE, November 4. /TASS/. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said that he is not going to recognize Kosovo’s independence and impose sanctions on Russia for the sake of accelerating the European integration process.

"We have a choice: we impose sanctions against Russia literally tomorrow, recognize Kosovo’s independence tomorrow, and here we are in the European Union as soon as you wish," he said after the summit on the EU enlargement.

He stressed that such steps are unacceptable for Belgrade. "I don’t think we must recognize independent Kosovo. I don’t think we must impose sanctions," he said.

According to Vucic, pressure on Serbia is purely political. "Do you think we must do this? I don’t. No problem, just do this and you’ll be in the European Union in a year. This is pure geopolitics, nothing else," he emphasized.

Serbia, in his words, decides about its policy independently. "Until today, this has been our choice, not theirs," he added.

After the beginning of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said in an address to the nation that although Serbia supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity, it will not impose sanctions against Russia. He noted that Serbia considers Russia and Ukraine to be brotherly nations, regrets what is going on in Eastern Europe and is ready to offer humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

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