"We would hurt ourselves by imposing sanctions on Russia"

"We would hurt ourselves by imposing sanctions on Russia"

"I am decisively against sanctions on Russia. Not only for historical and numerous moral reasons, but also because of a rational economic calculation. What would be the effect of our sanctions against a country like Russia? It goes without saying that in economic terms, this could not harm Russia. It seems to me that with such sanctions we would effectively impose sanctions on ourselves," Mrkić noted.

Asked "which option has a bigger minus attached to it, comparing the consequences that would result from joining the sanctions and the negative effects of resistance to the demands of the EU, whose part we want to become," Mrkić said:

"I do not want to deal with the consequences of hypothetical 'fateful' "decisions. The issue of the stance toward the EU and Russia should not be formulated as 'either-or.' Therefore, we continue to cooperate with Russia and enhance the speed of negotiations with the EU on the membership to which we aspire, which we have chosen as a priority of our own free will. Our country was for a long time under unjust sanctions. The people suffered, not the political elite. Would it now be right for us to impose sanctions on others?"

The newspaper's reporter concluded that "Moscow has estimated it is able to deal with the problems brought on by the punitive measures," and asked the adviser "why then so much insistence that Serbia does not take part in them," to which he said he "did not sense anything nearly of the kind."

Asked "whether in this game Brussels could reach for delaying the opening of accession negotiations chapters with Serbia until Serbia clearly takes sides," Mrkić said that "there will be no delays."

"The opposite is true: it is important to thoroughly prepare for the negotiations and to know at all times what we want, and that it is aligned with the strategic goal, our membership in the EU."

"No meeting of our President Tomislav Nikolić with foreign officials has been marked by 'insistence.' My experience is the same, and I meet on a daily basis with a number of ambassadors and representatives of the EU. During the visit of U.S.Assistant Secretary of State Ms. Victoria Nuland nothing of the kind was demanded at all. On the contrary, full understanding was expressed for our friendship and our special ties with Russia. There has been countless speculation in the media that Federica Mogherini, Italy's foreign minister and current EU chair, came to 'blackmail' us, but nothing like that has happened."

"It's true, she presented expectations that Serbia in the coming months and years will be able to frequently join EU's foreign policy positions. This is normal and we will do everything to be able to support our future European family. But - then again, and only - after a detailed evaluation of where our vital interests lie. Sometimes we will sacrifice partial interests in the name of solidarity with the friends in the EU, but we must not under any circumstances allow the loss of everything, and of our fundamental principles, by making the wrong decisions."

Asked whether "the pressure will, still, reach a point where we will have to make a cut: either the EU or Russia," this official responded by saying, "there will be no cutting."

"We will try to do everything to align our position with the EU. We sincerely hope that Ukraine and Russia, two brotherly, Slavic countries will find a solution through peaceful means and make all punitive measures unnecessary."

Asked whether the issue of "sanctions against Russia" was a topic of such particular gravity that citizens should declare themselves in a referendum, Mrkić said such a thing would be "redundant."

"I think I know what the result of such a referendum would be - and it would confirm the correctness of the policy that is consistently carried out by the state. I believe I saw a survey where the vast majority of our people said they were against a referendum, because it is redundant. These are very expensive undertakings, designed for questions of constitutional importance, and could also stoke up political passions. We'd lose time while attention is desperately needed to accomplish all the reforms announced by our government."

Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić addressed the same subject in an interview for CNN, to say that Serbia recognize Ukraine and Crimea as its part, but did not intend to impose sanctions on Russia.