Moscow did not take long to react to Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s friendly visit to Belgrade. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov addressed the possibility of Serbia becoming involved in funding Ukraine, describing such a scenario as entirely unacceptable to Russia. He referred to reports of cooperation between Belgrade, Kyiv and the European Union.
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“It would be unacceptable to us if our Serbian brothers took part in financing Ukraine. We, meanwhile, will significantly intensify our methods in order to destroy everything that feeds Kyiv’s war machine from the West,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.
Commenting on relations between Aleksandar Vučić and the Ukrainian president, Lavrov portrayed Zelenskyy’s reception in Belgrade as a tactical move by the Serbian president. According to the head of Russian diplomacy, Vučić received his Ukrainian counterpart to ease what Lavrov described as the European Union’s “shameless pressure.”
The Russian minister also intensified his attacks on Brussels, declaring that “the EU has now turned into the Fourth Reich.” The remarks come as Serbia seeks to maintain its traditional relations with Russia while at the same time continuing on its path toward EU membership.
A few days ago, Vučić said that Belgrade would support Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence, while also seeking to expand economic cooperation between the two countries. However, he was careful not to make any commitment to impose sanctions on Russia, Serbia’s traditional ally. Last week, Zelenskyy made a two-day visit to Belgrade, where he held meetings with senior Serbian officials.
