Dacic: Serbia cannot impose sanctions on Russia

VIENNA - Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has said that Serbia cannot impose sanctions on Russia, as Moscow has never introduced sanctions against Belgrade, underlining that Serbia is trying to take a balanced position in relation to Ukraine.

"We are trying to have a balanced position. The prime minister (Aleksandar Vucic) and I explained that to (the EU's foreign policy chief) Catherine Ashton," Dacic said in an interview to the Vienna-based broadsheet Die Presse.

"Our stand is based on two principles. The first is that Serbia respects the territorial integrity of every UN member state, Ukraine included. The second is that Serbia cannot impose sanctions on Russia, as Russia has never introduced sanctions against Serbia. Such balance is in our national interest," he explained.

Dacic noted that Serbia learnt the hard way how international law could be relativized when it comes to the territorial integrity and sovereignty.

"That's why we are not very pleased to hear Kosovo mentioned in that context, and when it is compared with Ukraine, no matter which side draws that comparison," the Serbian foreign minister said.

"In the case of Kosovo, international law was violated, and everything that ensued has been the consequence of that international law violation. That's why we are not pleased when someone mentions Kosovo in the context of Ukraine," Dacic said.

After the agreement was reached in Brussels (on April 19, 2013), there has been improvement in Belgrade-Pristina relations, but they are still far from normalized, Dacic noted.

As for the decision of the authorities in Pristina to form Kosovo's armed forces, Dacic said that it is in contravention of all UN decisions, according to which...