It's awkward for President to say: "Many wonder if you intend Serbia's EU accession"

It's awkward for President to say: "Many wonder if you intend Serbia's EU accession"

According to her, our country is not on an unequivocal, pro-Western path and we did not agree to impose sanctions on Russia.

Smajlovic told Tanjug that Scholz can be expected to tell Vucic that Serbia should align with Western values if it wants to go through the EU accession process.

"Both Albin Kurti and Miroslav Lajčák, who will attend the meeting, will say 'well, of course', if not at a joint meeting, then at least at that evening," Smajlovic said.

Asked if she sees a connection between German Chancellor invitation to Vučić and the topics to be discussed in Berlin with the recent visit of U.S. officials to Belgrade, Smajlović said that the goal of all people from the West is the same, and that both intend to put pressure on Serbia to follow the European path, which means imposing sanctions on Russia.

"When Americans come to us, they say, 'Don't you want to enter the European Union, isn't this the fastest way to enter? If you show Brussels that you share the same values, you'll enter faster,'" she said.

Smajlovic also said that Vucic was necessarily put in a defensive position, because he must defend his standpoint and explain why Serbia is not ready to impose sanctions on Russia and thus give up favorable energy prices.

"The topic to be discussed is whether Serbia will be with the community of countries it wants to join and it is quite uncomfortable to talk - we will, but we would like to harmonize only when we see that you will really allow Serbia's accession", Smajlović said.

She added that the conversation between Vučić and Scholz will be unpleasant because it is still uncertain whether our country will become an EU member, and on the other hand, we are expected to have a certain attitude towards Russia.

"It is not pleasant for the Serbian President to say, 'You know, many people here are wondering if you intend to allow Serbia's accession at all, and they wonder if it is wise for us to cut the branch we are sitting on in the hope that we will catch that pigeon someday,'" Smajlović concluded.

President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, will be in Berlin today, where he will meet with the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Olaf Scholz. Some of the topics of President Vučić's first meeting with Chancellor Scholz will be bilateral relations, economic cooperation, the situation in the region, as well as the crisis in Ukraine.