Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic made key geopolitical comments after the historic first official visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Belgrade.
Vucic was adamant that Serbia "has not lost anything" as a result of this visit, while also sharply criticizing European policy towards Russia, defining it as a "hybrid war" and warning that the Old Continent is on the brink of a large-scale military clash.
Belgrade's balance: Support for Kiev without sanctions for Moscow
During the joint press conferences at the Palace of Serbia, Vucic confirmed that Belgrade firmly supports territorial integrity of Ukraine, but will not change its position on imposing economic restrictions against the Kremlin. According to the official report of the international agency Reuters (www.reuters.com), Serbia remains highly dependent on Russian gas and refuses to join international sanctions. Vucic stressed that his country has not given up on its national interests and the meeting with Zelensky has brought only positive things for economic cooperation and the future free trade agreement between the two countries.
Europe on the brink of a major war and the “hybrid“ pressure
In his statements to the media, the Serbian leader expressed deep concern about the unprecedented militarization in Europe. He pointed out that the actions of European countries against Russia constitute a full-scale “hybrid war“, which is dragging the entire region into a dangerous spiral. According to the information portal Caliber.Az (www.caliber.az), Vučić has warned that Europe is openly preparing for a direct military conflict with the Russian Federation, with the large-scale rearmament budgets of countries such as Germany, Poland and Romania making a major war in Europe increasingly inevitable.
Pessimism about the end of the conflict
Vučić told journalists that as a “political veteran“ he does not see a real or quick way out of the current crisis in Ukraine. In a material by the Ukrainian publication “Obozrevatel“ and the UNN agency (www.unn.ua) it is noted that the Serbian president predicts an extremely difficult upcoming winter not only for the Ukrainian people, but also for all of Europe, as international dialogue is completely blocked by geopolitical opposition.