Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and leaders of other Southeastern European countries signed a declaration condemning Russia's actions in Ukraine. The document was adopted on October 9 at the Ukraine-Southeastern Europe summit in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
The declaration consists of 14 paragraphs. In addition to Vucic, the document was signed by:
The declaration condemns Russia's "unprovoked, unjustified, and illegal aggression against Ukraine." Moscow's actions constitute a crime against the Ukrainian people, a gross violation of international law and a serious threat to peace.
The declaration speaks of the need to restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine and states that the referenda that took place in March and September 2024 shall be considered invalid. It also says that Crimea, Sevastopol, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions should be brought back under the control of Kyiv.
Journalists from Croatia asked Serbian President Vucic how he perceived the point about the introduction of sanctions against Moscow.
"I have to disappoint you: this point was amended and it does not say that countries are obliged — they are called upon to agree with EU measures," the Serbian leader said, as quoted by RIA Novosti.
"We support the territorial integrity of Ukraine (…), but at the same time we will do without sanctions against the Russian Federation, this is the policy of the Republic of Serbia," Aleksandar Vucic added.
In addition, the point on the comprehensive assistance to Kyiv was changed as well. The document does not contain "military assistance" term. It was also decided to soften the wording on the issue of Crimea.
Earlier, it was reported that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic did not congratulate his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on his birthday for the first time in eight years.