Serbia is looking to enhance cooperation with
Russia in the energy and trade areas.
ST.PETERSBURG,
June 1. /TASS/. Serbia will never slap sanctions on Russia and will remain
militarily neutral, Foreign Minister and Acting Prime Minister Ivica Dacic said
at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2017).
"Russia
and Serbia are traditional friends and allies. We will continue moving in the
same direction," Dacic said.
"Serbia
will never impose sanctions against Russia, this is not only political but a
moral issue for us," Dacic stressed. "We will remain friends
forever," he added. "Serbia won’t change its policy of military
neutrality," the foreign minister said.
The top diplomat went on to say that Serbia’s decision not to back the anti-Russia sanctions is a moral choice, and Belgrade will uphold this position.
"Serbia
is one of a few, or even the only, European country that did not join
the sanctions against Russia,"
Dacic said. "This is neither a
political, nor an economic issue for us, but a moral one. We have unique
relations and we will uphold this position in the future."
Serbia
hopes to become a member of the European Union but it has no intention to
conduct an anti-Russian policy, he added.
"Serbia
is a sovereign state and it cares for the interests of its people. We are not
as developed as Norway or Switzerland, which do not need EU membership. It is
in our interests to become part of the European Union for the sake of giving
our people a better life."
"On
the other hand, we will not let any political matters intervene with our
strategic interests, such as the status of the autonomous territory of Kosovo
and Metohija," Dacic said.
Belgrade is
determined to stick to a "policy of military neutrality."
"We
wish to become a member of the European Union without turning our back on
Russia or conducting an anti-Russian policy. We will never do that. This
question is not a political one to us. It is a matter of morality."
About
interaction with the Eurasian Economic Union’s member-states Dacic said that
Serbia hoped to better political and economic relations with the EAEU members -
Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
The country
is looking to enhance cooperation with Russia in the energy and trade areas, he
went on.
"Serbia
wants to step up cooperation with Russia in the energy industry, to boost trade
as well as to increase the list of goods, and finalize the implementation of
current and launch new infrastructure projects," he said.
Serbia
plans to bring the trade turnover with Russia to $4 bln per annum.
"I
think we have a huge and untapped potential and we need to expand economic ties
boosting the trade turnover," he said.
According
to Dacic, last year’s trade turnover between the countries amounted to around
$2.3 bln.
"Our
target is to reach $4 bln," he added.
Source: ITAR-TASS 02-06-2017
