Belgrade (Times Of Ocean)- Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic, who was campaigning for reelection in Vranje, says Belgrade will not join NATO and will instead protect its airspace and soil by itself.
“We will protect our children and the future, we have enough soldiers. Our interest is in peace and compromises, but the time of pogroms and persecution is over,” Aleksandar Vucic said at a rally of his Serbian Progressive Party (SNS).
“I fear” what others might bring to Serbia, he said, adding that he believes the people will choose wisely in the upcoming elections.
NATO expansion was cited by Russia as a reason for the war launched last month in Ukraine, even though Kyiv was nowhere near joining the military alliance.
As for Serbia, Kremlin opposes NATO membership in particular for countries with which it shares historical ties of Slavic ethnicity and Easter Orthodox Christianity.
In the Western Balkans, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Albania have joined EU and US sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine war. Serbia said it supports Ukraine’s territorial integrity, but it declined to impose sanctions.
Since 2017, Vucic has served as Serbia’s president, and he is seeking a second term, which under the Constitution would be his last.