Russian Foreign Ministry: American and European pressure to force Serbia to sever ties with Russia
On June 23rd, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the United States and the European Union are exerting unprecedented pressure on Serbia to force it to sever its relations with Russia.
“We cooperate closely with Belgrade on the basis of mutual benefit and this meets the basic national interests of Russia and Serbia. We aim to deepen our bilateral strategic partnership and highly appreciate the principled position of our Serbian friends who remained neutral in light of the current difficult situation,” RIA Novosti news agency quoted the director of the fourth European department in the ministry, Yuri Plibson, as saying.
He pointed out that his country realizes at the same time how difficult it is to bear the unprecedented pressure from the United States and the
European Union, which forces Belgrade to sacrifice the quality of its relations with it for the sake of integration with the West.
Concerning the enlargement of the European Union in the Western Balkans, Plibson considered that most of the European Union countries insist on Belgrade’s recognition of Kosovo’s independence in one way or another, while the Serbian partners reiterate that they will not conclude unacceptable deals.
- al-Mohammad