PM speaks to Russian media, reiterates "no sanctions"

PM speaks to Russian media, reiterates "no sanctions"

MOSCOW -- Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić has told Russia's Itar-Tass news agency that Serbia has not, and will not impose sanctions against Russia.

"Serbia is a free country. It is on the European path, but nobody can order Serbia to destroy its relations with the Russian Federation. And Serbia has shown that it is a country that must be respected," Vučić said.

During the interview he gave to the deputy general director of Itar-Tass, Mikhail Gusman, the prime minister spoke in Serbian, but also said "several sentences" in Russian.

"The Serbian and Russian people are very close and we have a lot of projects. We need to do a lot together in the future and I want to say that Serbia - a free and independent country, that Serbia is on the European path, but Serbia has not introduced and will not introduce any sanctions against Russia," Vučić reiterated.

He also stated that in his meeting Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Patriarch Irinej "the first or second question was, 'what are relations with Russia like now'," and that Irinej said that "the Church does not consider it necessary to impose sanctions on Russia."

"I told him: the Church is not making decisions in Serbia, but thank you for your opinion. And it is very important to know what the Church thinks," Vučić was quoted as saying.

He then described himself as "a man who is trying to rationally manage the government of Serbia, does what is best for Serbia, always and at every moment."

"I do not hide from our Russian partners that we are on the European path," Vučić said, adding at the same time that he never suffered any pressure "from the Russian leadership."