Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised Serbia’s position toward Moscow, particularly Belgrade’s refusal to impose sanctions on Russia, while expressing hope that Aleksandar Vučić will become Serbia’s prime minister.
Speaking at the plenary session of the Valdai International Discussion Club on October 1, Putin said Moscow appreciated what he described as Serbia’s “restrained” position on key and sensitive issues, as well as its refusal to adopt measures that would impose sanctions on Russia.
“We welcome Serbia’s very restrained position on a number of key and very sensitive issues, as well as its refusal to make any decisions that imply sanctions against Russia,” Putin said.
He then referred directly to Aleksandar Vučić, expressing hope that the former Serbian president would return to power as prime minister.
“Serbia’s current leadership, Aleksandar Vučić, who was president until recently and, I hope, will be prime minister in the future, pursues a restrained policy and demonstrates a desire to cooperate with Russia. We certainly welcome this and will respond in kind,” Putin said.
Putin also addressed relations between Serbia and the West, saying he did not understand what he described as the “unfair and asymmetric” treatment of the Serbian people over recent decades.
“Personally, it is absolutely unclear to me why the collective West has treated the Serbian people so unfairly and asymmetrically over the past decades. They divided the Serbian people into several parts, and Serbs found themselves in different state entities,” Putin said.
Referring to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Dayton Agreement, Putin also mentioned his recent meeting with Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik. Putin said that the Dayton Agreement had been formulated by the parties themselves but was now, in his characterization, not being implemented, while solutions were being imposed on Serbs in other cases.
According to Putin, Serbs have become “a divided people in Europe,” which he attributed to what he described as an imposed division.
Putin’s remarks come as Vučić has resigned from the Serbian presidency and is seeking a return to power through the position of prime minister. Vučić announced his resignation on September 27, while parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 25.
At the same time, Moscow continues to publicly welcome Belgrade’s refusal to impose sanctions on Russia, while Serbia maintains its stated strategic goal of joining the European Union.
