Vuciq at summit in Ukraine refuses to sign declaration condemning Russian aggression

Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, declared during his first visit to Ukraine since the beginning of Russian aggression, that “has not betrayed Russia” and that at the summit held in Odessa it has not signed the declaration condemning aggression, as it called for imposing sanctions on Russia.

He said Serbia has remained neutral and that no one has exercised any <x0-pressure” on it to sign this statement.

I was the only one who didn't accept the statement. Unlike those who accept anything against Russia, anything they can do, Vuciq said on June 11th in front of reporters in Odessa, where he participated in the Ukraine summit Southeast Europe.

He also stressed that it is <x0-headed for Serbia's policy” and for its “independence and self-determination”. “So we will continue”, Vuciq added.

The declaration, signed at the Odessa summit by Western Balkan leaders, including from Romania, Moldova, Greece and Croatia, condemns Russian aggression, calls for Ukraine's NATO membership and condemns war crimes committed by Russia, according to the AFP agency.

The document, among other things, calls on Russia to withdraw troops from Ukraine and condemns the expulsion of thousands of Ukrainian civilians, including children, to Russia.

During his speech at the summit, the Serbian president declared that Serbia would continue to respect international law, including “the protection of territorial integrity of countries that are recognised by the United Nations”.

We have always defended this attitude and will remain steadfast at this point. I think in a way this might also be useful for Ukraine”, Vuciq said.

In a statement to reporters, he added that he has thanked Ukraine's president, Voldymyr Zelensky, for the full respect of the UN Charter and the territorial integrity of Serbia”.

And there were no Pristina and representatives of Pristina”, Vuciq said.

In his speech at the summit in Ode, he also stated that Belgrade “would like to help rebuild one or two cities or a small region” in Ukraine, as a sign of support for Ukrainian citizens.

At the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Serbia had voiced support for Ukraine's territorial integrity, but has so far refused to impose sanctions on Moscow.

Serbian officials have continued to maintain ties with Russia, and Vuciq was 9 May in Moscow at the Victory Parade on the 80th anniversary of victory over Fascism. There, he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Serbian president published his account in the Instagram on 11 June, saying that in Odessa he was committed to intensifying dialogue and achieving peace as quickly as possible.

In the summit margins, he also met with the president of Ukraine. “We exchanged thoughts on the importance of achieving lasting and lasting peace, respecting international law, as well as on the role of diplomacy in overcoming conflicts”, Vuciq wrote in the Instagram, a post he accompanied with a photo of Zelensky.

He added that they also talked about economic issues and common goals in terms of strengthening co-operation in various social areas.

During the three-year war, Serbia has said it has a policy of neutrality and has denied that it supplies weapons to parties involved in the conflict.

However, the Russian Federation's Foreign Security Service on 28 May accused Serbia of, despite the official declaration of neutrality”, Belgrade continues to supply Ukraine with ammunition and that with this, the “godet Russia behind its back”.

The reaction from Moscow came after for years different media had reported that Serbian weapons and ammunition, through third countries, have ended up in the hands of Ukrainian soldiers.

Official Belgrade has denied several times that Serbia has directly exported weapons to Ukraine or Russia, and has stressed that it cannot influence where the weapons sold through mediators end.

Following the Russian service's statement, Vucic said contracts for the sale of weapons and ammunition will be cut off when there are doubts about their abuse and transfer to the Ukrainian front. /Periscope/