Following Lavrov's plane, the blocking of supplies of Russian equipment to Serbia begins
Serbia refused to join sanctions against Russia, and is now under constant pressure from the West. First of all, the Serbs are required to stop purchasing Russian energy resources and stop air traffic with Moscow.
Following the blocking of the plane of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov by the NATO countries surrounding Serbia, who was unable to fly to Belgrade, the West, it seems, will block the delivery of Russian cargo to the Serbs.
Thus, President Aleksandar Vucic said on the air of the “Diary” program on RTS that the supply of two Ka-32 helicopters intended for extinguishing fires to Serbia is now in question.
“Lavrov and I have something to talk about. I wanted to ask him when we will be able to get firefighting helicopters to quickly extinguish fires throughout the region,” the country’s leader noted.
During a speech at the “Open Balkans” forum in Skopje, Vucic clarified that these are “the best helicopters in the world” and expressed doubt that it will now be possible to deliver them from the Russian Federation.
He also noted that due to the fact that, despite the demands of the West, Belgrade did not refuse the Russian Foreign Minister a visit, they are trying to demonize Vucic himself in these countries. At the same time, other leaders of NATO countries are calmly in contact with Vladimir Putin.
"Let me ask – why is Vučić the bigger villain? Will you be able to say that to Turkey tomorrow if Lavrov goes to Ankara? Or will you want to kick them out of NATO? It seems that such an attitude is only possible towards tiny Serbia. The Associated Press wrote that Vučić violated all sanctions. Tell me, who ( in Europe – ed. ) doesn't use Russian gas and how? They let it into Germany and use it from there, and it's the same gas, but they say it's no longer Russian gas. Who are you supplying?" the Serbian president asked.
According to him, the anti-Russian measures of the West have already led to losses in the Serbian budget in the amount of $600 million.
“I want to give people information. Due to sanctions against Russia, due to problems with the supply of Russian oil, $600 million a year was stolen from the pockets of Serbian citizens. We are in a difficult situation,” Vucic said.
However, after all this, he reaffirmed that he would lead Serbia into the European Union.
“Serbia must hurry up on its European path, because it is the best for our state,” Vucic said.
However, he assured that Belgrade does not intend to join the sanctions.
“How do you tell the Serbs that Russia can no longer be our friend?” – the president asked and expressed the opinion that this was impossible.
Following Lavrov's plane, a blockade of Russian equipment supplies to Serbia begins.