There are only two countries in Europe that have not imposed sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine. These countries are: Belarus and Serbia.
Belarus has supported Russia in the invasion of Ukraine. It is considered a close ally of Russia. Belarus has even helped Russia invade Ukraine. Because of its actions, many institutions and individuals in Belarus have been hit with sanctions by U.S. and European Union.
Besides Belarus, the only other country that has not imposed sanctions is Serbia. Officially, Serbia has decided to stay neutral, but staying neutral in this case is like supporting Russia.
Serbia has defied the calls from the European Union and the U.S. to join sanctions against Russia, although its autocratic president said that Moscow’s assault against Ukraine is against the international law.
With the move, Serbia remains a rare European state together with Belarus not to join Western sanctions introduced against Moscow for its invasion of a sovereign European state.
“Serbia respects the norms of the international law,” President Aleksandar Vucic said. “But Serbia also understands its own interests.”
Vucic said that Serbia regards the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity as “very wrong,” but added it won’t join international sanctions against Russia.
Despite formally seeking EU membership, Serbia has been strengthening ties with its traditional Slavic ally Russia. Moscow has been supplying Serbia’s armed forces with weapons, leading to more tensions in the Balkans which went through a bloody civil war in the 1990s. Many analysts fear that Russia will encourage Serbia to start another war in Bosnia and/or Kosovo, thus open a new front in Europe.
Discussion about this post