Serbia to join UN decisions on Ukraine but not for sanctions on Russia

By Talha Ozturk

BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Serbia will join all decisions of the UN General Assembly on the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity amid its war with Russia but will reject all those related to sanctions against Russia, its president said Tuesday.

Aleksandar Vucic told reporters that during the UN General Assembly’s emergency special session Monday on the Ukrainian crisis, there was a vote for nine decisions, of which Serbia joined one, and that he would join another later.

"Yesterday we had nine votes. In eight, we did not join, and in one we did. Today we have one where we will join,” he said.

“For everything related to the demolition and violation of territorial integrity, Serbia will join. For the issue of sanctions, Serbia will not join, at least as long as we can endure this for a while, a few more days while I am the de facto president of the republic. Now after choosing someone else, that is a different story," said Vucic.

Answering a question on how long he will be allowed to sit in two chairs, both in Brussels and in Moscow, Vucic said Serbia already has its own chair.

''We have our chair, and the pressures are huge on our country, and it will be very difficult to endure them. The question is how and what,'' he said.

Serbia's National Security Council decided last week not to join the European Union in imposing sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine but lent support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

Vucic said Serbia stands for peace and respects international law and will protect its interests.

Since Russia's war on Ukraine began last Thursday, it has been met with outrage from the international community, with the European Union, UK and US implementing a range of economic sanctions against Russia.

Russia was further isolated after its planes were barred from flying in European and Canadian airspace, and a number of its banks were kicked out of the SWIFT international banking system.