Zakharova called the goal of the US and the EU the accession of Serbia to the sanctions

The goal of the United States and the European Union in relation to Serbia is to break the political will of the Serbian authorities and force it to join the sanctions regime against RUSSIA, said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

In her opinion, the alliance between Washington and Brussels, pursuing a hostile policy towards Russia, "will not tolerate half-hearted decisions and dissent among those who agreed to join it." The Serbian authorities, who have not joined the anti-Russian sanctions, are being subjected to "hard pressure literally on a daily basis."

Zakharova noted that in Moscow "we have repeatedly heard from Serbian colleagues reflections on the topic of revising their own views on relations with Russia with references to European integration priorities, the risk of losing Western investment, and the like." But Belgrade still refrains from taking measures that could damage Serbian-Russian relations, since the Serbian authorities understand the "independent value" of such a partnership.

Serbia, after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, did not begin to impose sanctions against Russia, although the European Union demanded to join them. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic stressed that the country wants to maintain an independent policy. At the same time, he noted that the refusal to impose sanctions against Russia cost Belgrade the loss of allies.

Vučić admitted that Serbia would have to join the restrictions at some point. He is "not thrilled" with the prospect, but does not know "how long we [Serbia] can stand if we don't impose sanctions." The Serbian leader believes that Belgrade is "paying the price" for refusing to apply restrictive measures, but their introduction is "a matter of political determination."