Serbia is considering imposing economic sanctions on Russia
Serbian national guard
Serbian Economy Minister Rade Basta caused a stir on the Serbian political scene on Monday with a proposal that Belgrade impose sanctions against Russia, the first such statement by a Serbian government official in favor of sanctions and a departure from Serbia’s official position. Rade Basta stated in a statement that Serbia is already paying a high price for not imposing sanctions against Russia and “this is becoming unsustainable”. The announcement caused disapproval within the United Serbia party, from whose list the minister entered Ana Brnabic’s government, as well as requests from the coalition partners for Basta to submit his resignation.
United Serbia is part of an electoral alliance with the Socialist Party of Serbia led by former foreign minister Ivica Dacic, which has in turn been in a coalition with Aleksandar Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party for several election cycles. Basta stated that he, as the minister of economy, sees the pressure the Serbian president is under from the EU and the international community, although no one talks about it. “I cannot accept this,” said Basta, stating that for this reason he is in favor of imposing sanctions against Russia and that he is “with President Vucic in the defense of national interests” and has “absolute confidence” in Vucic. “That’s why I request the Serbian government and all the ministers to make a statement on this issue,” Rade Basta said. Recalling that Serbia itself has faced sanctions throughout its history and that people “suffered severe economic consequences”, he said that Belgrade did not take the decision to impose sanctions hoping “that the war will end and reason will prevail”. prevail, and the two sides will sit down at the negotiation table”. But “we are faced with a new reality”, he said, stressing that due to “global disturbances, Serbia is facing enormous pressure”. The United Serbia party was the first to react to Basta’s suggestion, pointing out that he expressed a “personal position” and not the position of the party of which he is a member, which opposes the “imposition of sanctions against anyone” and stating that the solution to the war in Ukraine “is at the negotiating table”. Aleksandar Vulin’s Socialist Movement, also a member of the ruling coalition, called for Basta to resign for calling for Serbia to join “illegal sanctions against the Russian Federation”. Serbian President Vucic has refused to join EU and international sanctions against Russia, but in early February, during a debate on Kosovo, he told lawmakers that he would “probably have to impose sanctions” against the Kremlin. He said he was not “happy about it”, but that Belgrade was already paying a price for not doing so earlier. The Kremlin reacted to this statement saying that it understands that “Serbian leaders are facing unprecedented pressure from the West” and that it understands the position of President Aleksandar Vucic, hoping for further improvement in relations between the two countries. Vucic’s Serbian Progressive Party has not yet commented on his claims.
By Paul Bumman
