Serbia rejects banning Russia despite EU pressure
Serbian
President Tomislav Nikolic (R) and EU Commissioner Johannes Hahn hold a
press conference in Belgrade on November 20, 2014.
Fri Nov 21, 2014 8:9AM GMT
Serbian
President Tomislav Nikolic says his country will not impose sanctions
on Russia over the crisis in Ukraine despite intense pressure from the
European Union (EU).
Nikolic made the remarks on Thursday after a meeting with EU
Commissioner for Enlargement and Good-Neighborly Relations Johannes Hahn
in the Serbian capital of Belgrade.Hahn stressed during the meeting that Brussels expects Serbia to bring its policy in line with the EU if Belgrade seeks to join the 28-member bloc.
Nikolic acknowledged the importance of a common policy in the European Union, stressing, however, that his country “will definitely not impose sanctions on Russia” as it is not an EU member state.Meanwhile, Russian lawmaker Aleksey Pushkov, who is also the head of Russia’s State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee, criticized the EU pressure on Serbia, saying Brussels is trying to force Belgrade to impose bans against Moscow.
“Presently the European Union is trying to force Serbia, which is not an EU member, to join their sanctions program,” said Pushkov, adding, “They are practically blackmailing Serbia: either it joins the sanctions against Russia or [the bloc] won’t see it as a country with a chance of joining the EU.”
Zhou Li, a senior Chinese official, also echoed Pushkov’s opinion, saying “the EU is trying to impose its values on Serbia and sets the imposition of sanctions on Russia as a condition for entering the union.”
In recent months, the Western states have imposed sanctions on Russia, including on its financial and energy sectors, putting a number of Russian nationals close to President Vladimir Putin on a sanctions list.
The West accuses Moscow of having a hand in the crisis in eastern Ukraine, which erupted when Kiev launched military operations in mid-April to silence pro-Russia protests. However, the Kremlin denies the accusation.
CAH/MKA/KA