Hill warns Serbia: This isn't Russia's mother.

I would warn Serbia to understand this is not Russia's mother, we are facing another Russia”, Hill said during an interview for Serbia's Radio Television Public.

Hill said he knows this is difficult and that Serbia has decades of good relations with Russia. But, he added, it's now about a very different Russia, a Russia that brutally attacks its neighbours”. Serbia must be declared for this, Hill said.

Serbia is the only Western Balkan country that has not joined Western sanctions on Russia due to Ukraine's invasion.

If you look at Europe, only a few states, it seems only Belarus and Serbia have not imposed sanctions on Russia. The question is whether Serbia wants to stay in this group. Many states have imposed sanctions, and they are having consequences. The question is whether sanctions may have an impact on Russia's behaviour, but they nevertheless imposed sanctions because they realise they must be united and reject what Russia is doing, Hill said.

Hill said he does not think someone is threatening Serbia on the issue, but added that other states are urging Serbia to take a stand. Speaking of the possibility of the US assisting Serbia in the event it is affected by the eventual establishment of sanctions against Russia, the US ambassador said his state is working to ensure that Serbia has a range of energy suppliers. He added that this is in the interest of both sides.

“We wanted to work with Serbia on this issue, American companies are very interested in Serbia finding additional energy suppliers so that it does not live under Russian blackmail”, Hill said. Referring to the Kosovo issue, Hill said he understands it is great for the people of Serbia, but called on them to note the differences between the situation in Kosovo and the current situation in Ukraine.

Russia, he said, has signed the Budapest memorandum in May 1994, where it has effectively agreed to respect the territorial integrity of its neighbours, and according to him, is now violating this point as it asked the Serbian people to follow what is happening today in Ukraine. I understand this is a big issue for the people of Serbia. But I also urge him to understand the great difference between that difficult issue and the situation, in which we have a power that is behaving differently and is trying to get something that belongs to her neighbor. And this is a very different situation”, Hill said. Russia is under Western sanctions following the start of Ukraine's invasion on 24 February. / REL