BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) – Serbia’s president said on Wednesday that the European Union’s calls for his country to join in sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine amounted to “brutal” interference in the internal affairs of the Balkan state, which is around EU has asked to join.
In his wide-ranging year-end speech to the nation, Aleksandar Vucic praised the economic and political achievements of himself and his country and compared himself to a wolf who could not be tamed under international pressure.
“Thank you for interfering so brutally in our internal affairs,” he said, referring to the Western appeals.
Though Serbia formally aspires to EU membership, it has repeatedly ignored calls to align its foreign policy with the 27-nation bloc, including participating in international sanctions against Moscow over the war in Ukraine.
There are increasing suggestions from EU member states that Serbia’s bid for membership should be suspended until it is in line with the bloc’s foreign policy.
Serbia remains the only European country, along with Belarus, to have refused to impose sanctions on Russia, its Slavic ally.
Russia has backed Serbia’s claim to its former province of Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008 with Western backing.
Vucic said senior US and EU officials will visit Serbia in the next few days to discuss possible solutions to tensions over Kosovo, which have been running high in recent weeks as Serbia deployed troops to the shared border. North Kosovo has a sizeable ethnic Serb minority.
“We wanted peace and only just saved him,” Vucic said. “Through no fault of your own. We didn’t provoke anyone for even a second, unless some people consider it a provocation that we see our people in Kosovo as citizens of our country.”