EU is making mistake by putting pressure on Serbia - Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. Dec 1 (Interfax) - The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that by making Serbia join the anti-Russia sanctions, the European Union is making the same mistake as it made with Ukraine, when it made Ukraine choose between Russia and Europe.
"The unprecedented pressure on Belgrade is a good example of double standards, when the EU says countries have a right to determine their our future and politics, but at the same time puts direct pressure on specific countries, in particular, on Serbia. In this case, they are making the same mistake they made with Ukraine. No one in Russia has ever made our Serbian partners make such choices," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said in an interview with Interfax.
There is no other logic in that than "fight for geopolitical supremacy" in the attempts made by western colleagues to put partners worldwide before such choices, he said.
"As for Russia, we will not set anyone against anyone, and we never have," the diplomat said.
Meshkov said Russia is aware of its Serbian partners' wish to enter the European Union. "Simultaneously, we are actively developing our bilateral ties between Russia and Serbia, which are not targeted against anyone, let alone the EU."
"The purpose of our relations is to promote the socio-economic development of our countries. We value Belgrade's positive attitude to the comprehensive development of Russian-Serbian relations, which was confirmed once again during the visit by Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin to Serbia," Meshkov said.