By Talha Ozturk
BELGRADE, Serbia (AA) - Serbia will not impose sanctions on Russia for the Ukraine crisis, President Aleksandar Vucic said Friday.
Vucic's remarks came after a session of the National Security Council.
He said Serbia stands for peace, respects international law and believes that it is wrong to violate the territorial integrity of any country, including Ukraine, but will not impose sanctions on Russia because it will protect its interests.
''Serbia will be guided solely by its own interests in considering sanctions against any state, including Russia. It feels that it is not in its interest to impose sanctions on any state. Serbia respects international law as the best way to protect itself and its interests,” said Vucic. “Serbia has its vital interests and has traditional friends. We responded in the most responsible way to challenges.''
Vucic said Serbia regrets events in the east of Europe because Russia and Ukraine are friendly states.
''The Republic of Serbia feels that it is very wrong to violate the territorial integrity of any state, including Ukraine,'' said Vucic, adding that all military and police activities with foreign partners will be discontinued.
Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine entered a third day Saturday, with the latest reports indicating that Russian troops were heading toward the capital, Kyiv, from several directions.
Putin ordered the military intervention Thursday, days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.
He claimed that Moscow had no plan to occupy the neighboring country, but wanted to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to install a puppet government and said Ukrainians will defend their country against Russian aggression.
Tensions started escalating late last year when Ukraine, the US and its allies accused Russia of amassing nearly 150,000 troops on the border with Ukraine.
They claimed Russia was preparing to invade its western neighbor, allegations consistently rejected by Moscow.