Serbia hints at reconsidering goal of joining EU amid Ukraine war; 'Russia is our friend'

Amid the relentless war in Eastern Europe, Serbia's interior minister has stated that the country should reconsider its planned goal of joining the European Union (EU) due to purported Western pressure to join international sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. Minister Aleksandar Vulin was responding to a question, on Thursday, regarding a draft European Parliament resolution that calls for Serbia to impose sanctions on Russia if it genuinely wants to join the 27-member bloc, The Associated Press (AP) reported, citing the RTS broadcaster. 

Vulin claimed that the draft clearly illustrates that the "European Union does not want Serbia in its membership," and that it is "high time" for Serbia to reconsider its decision to pursue the EU membership goal. So far, Serbia has refused to join Western sanctions against Russia despite voting in favour of three UN resolutions denouncing Russian aggression against Ukraine. "We are an old, ancient, historical nation that chooses its friends. Russia is our friend," Serbia's interior minister Vulin remarked. 

'Serbia won't join Western hysteria against Russia': Aleksandar Vulin

Refusing to impose sanctions on Russia, Vulin said last month that Belgrade will not impose sanctions or join Western "hysteria" against Moscow. He emphasised that Serbia will never be a part of the anti-Russian hysteria in which the properties of Russian citizens and the Russian Federation are seized. The Balkan nation is a staunch Russian ally, though it has condemned its invasion of Ukraine. 

Serbian President says his country has no intention to join NATO

Last month, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic made it clear that his country has no intention of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) because it cannot forget the children who were killed in the 1999 conflict when the military alliance bombarded the former Yugoslavian state. Despite repeated US warnings that Serbia's military must align with Western standards if it wants to join Western integrations, China provided a formidable air defence system to Belgrade earlier this month. On Tuesday, April 19, a US Senate delegation encouraged Serbia to join the rest of Europe in imposing sanctions on Russia in response to its brutal war in Ukraine.

(With inputs from AP, Image: AP)