Moscow's response to the Serbian minister: Rather strange position

Moscow's response to the Serbian minister: Rather strange position

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, in her Telegram channel, responded to the call of the Minister of Economy of Serbia, Rade Basta, to the government to join the sanctions against Russia in connection with the growing pressure on the republic from the West. She advised him to think about who really creates such problems for the country, and to speak out against them.

“Rather strange position: America puts pressure on Serbia, and the Serbian minister calls to oppose Russia. Maybe it’s better for the Serbian minister to speak out strongly against the pressure on his country?”, Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated on her Telegram channel.

Zakharova predicted increased US pressure on Serbia in the event of sanctions against Russia.

"Russia, unlike the USA, has always respected Serbia and its people. And the point is not only in the historical truth, but in the obvious fact: by imposing sanctions on Russia, the pressure of the USA on Serbia will not stop, but will only increase," Zakharova added, as Sputnik reports.

Yesterday, in a statement, Minister Basta requested that the Government of Serbia urgently declare the introduction of sanctions against the Russian Federation due to, as he stated, aggression against Ukraine.

"Our country is already paying a high price for not imposing sanctions on Russia, and that is becoming unsustainable. As the Minister of Economy, I cannot accept how much pressure is being put on the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and we remain silent. That is why I am in favor of imposing sanctions on Russia, I stand by President Vučić in the defense of state and national interest and I have absolute trust in him. That is why I am asking the Government of Serbia and all the ministers to make a statement on this issue," said Basta.

"As a country that has itself been faced with sanctions throughout history and whose people have suffered severe economic consequences, we did not make that decision because we hoped that the conflicts would end, that reason would prevail and that the two sides would finally sit down at the negotiating table", he stated.

"Unfortunately, with the passage of time, we are faced with a new reality. There is no end in sight to the conflict, and reason seems to have run out. Small countries always suffer in the conflict of the big ones, and due to the global turmoil, Serbia is facing tremendous pressures," added Basta.

According to him, it is necessary for the Government of Serbia to adopt a unified position on the direction in which the country will move forward.