MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. Belgrade will never introduce sanctions against Russia even if Serbia joins the European Union, Serbian Parliament Speaker Maja Gojkovic said on Monday at a meeting with the members of Russian parliament's lower house, the State Duma.

“Serbia will never impose sanctions on Russia as they have never done any good to anyone and cannot contribute to solving any problems,” Gojkovic said. “It’s simple people who suffer due to international sanctions, and we know that dialogue and only dialogue is needed to solve the problems,” she stressed.

The Serbian politician said although the country is seeking to join the 28-member bloc, such a strategic decision will not become an obstacle for further development of brotherly relations with Russia.

“We are thankful to Russia for support on this path,” she said. “Thanks to Serbia’s membership in the EU, Russia will get a sincere friend and reliable partner in this organization,” Gojkovic said.

“Our people supports accession to the EU, and the Serbian parliament has a consensus on this issue,” she said.

Serbia has been an official candidate for EU membership since 2012.

In late November, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic admitted in that the EU membership implies an obligation to pursue a common foreign policy. He said however the country would not slap sanctions on Moscow.

Johannes Hahn, Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy, told Nikolic that the European family was expecting Serbia to gradually bring its policy in line with the European one, including its foreign policy.