Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that US President Joe Biden’s congratulations to his Serbian counterpart Alexander Vučić on the occasion of Serbia’s Statehood Day is an element of “overt pressure” and an attempt to remake the country under the United States. According to her, Mr. Biden congratulated Serbia “in a boorish way.”
Serbian Statehood Day is celebrated on February 15th. On this day in 1804, the Serbs under the leadership of Karageorgi raised the first uprising against the Turkish yoke. The uprising culminated in the Treaty of Bucharest in 1812, which committed Turkey to grant internal self-government to Serbia, but in 1813 the Ottoman Empire defeated the rebel forces, taking advantage of the lack of support for Belgrade by the Russian Empire, which was busy fighting Napoleon.
“In this case, it’s not just about pressure, it seems to me that with regard to Serbia, the United States has chosen a slightly different method of action, this is not pressure, this is an open attempt to remake the country under the United States, under no EU, because very often they hide behind precisely the European integration future,” said a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry on Sputnik radio.
According to Maria Zakharova, the congratulations of the US President are an attempt to reshape and remake Serbia “in terms of borders.” We are talking about the public recognition by Belgrade of the complete separation of Kosovo, the representative of the Foreign Ministry specified.
In his congratulations, Mr. Biden said that the United States welcomes Serbia’s support for the EU proposal to normalize relations with Kosovo, and also expressed hope for strengthening cooperation between Washington and Belgrade, the TV channel reports. N1. In addition, the US President called on Serbia to continue to support the people of Ukraine and to hold Russia accountable for “an unjust and unprovoked war.”
Serbia does not provide military support to Ukraine, but sends humanitarian aid to it. The country does not impose anti-Russian sanctions, although it is under pressure from the EU in connection with the desire to join the union. At the same time, at the UN General Assembly, Belgrade supported a resolution condemning Russian actions in Ukraine. According to Mr. Vučić, it was necessary to stay on the international stage. The Serbian leader said that the country between Russia and the West is like between a rock and a hard place.