Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić visited Ukraine for the first time to attend the Ukraine-Southeastern Europe summit in Odesa. Although seen by many as an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Vučić met with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky at the conference.
The Serbian leader declared that his country is and will remain committed to respecting international law and the UN Charter in the context of supporting the territorial integrity of states, a reference to the occupied territories of Ukraine annexed by Russia, writes Do Rzeczy.
He stressed that Ukraine “can always count” on Serbia’s humanitarian aid and political support for its territorial integrity.
Vučić also offered aid to Ukraine, specifically to help rebuild. “I would like to choose one or two cities or regions that we could help rebuild. I think it would be very clear and visible to the Ukrainian people, so they could receive concrete support,” he said.
Press reports indicate that Serbia is seeking to establish closer contacts with Kyiv in an effort to improve its relations with the European Union. As a candidate country for EU membership, this makes sense. Serbia has no definitive date for when it will become a member and despite having indicated that it aims to meet all criteria by 2026 or 2027, negotiations regarding its final accession are ongoing. Late last summer, the Serbian president even told press it was “unlikely” to join before 2030.
In the Russo-Ukrainian war, Serbia has maintained its neutrality. It has not imposed sanctions on the Kremlin and does business with Russia. Vučić was even in Moscow for Russia’s Victory Day on May 9, a visit slammed by Western media.
After the Ukraine-Southeastern Europe summit, EU politicians were to make it clear to the authorities in Belgrade that further integration of Serbia with the European Union would be impossible if the country continued to cooperate with Russia.
Recently, relations between Moscow and Belgrade were strained when Russia accused Serbia of selling arms to Ukraine. Serbia had initially denied that its arms factories were producing ammunition for Ukraine. President Aleksandar Vucic later said he would not prohibit these private companies from selling ammunition to countries that might pass it on to the war-torn country.
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