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Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbian president, spoke out last week in opposition to joining the West’s sanctions against Russia due to his country’s reliance on Moscow for energy demands and security assurances.
“We have a sort of protection [from Russia],” Vucic said, according to the Financial Times. “What do [western countries] want? Leave all our national interests because someone needs something for themselves?
“People talk about choosing sides. No, we have our own side: Serbia’s interests. We were bombed by 19 NATO countries [in 1999] and sanctioned. We haven’t imposed sanctions against anyone because… we don’t believe sanctions change anything,” he said. “You can pressure and force Serbia but this is our genuine opinion.”
President Joe Biden has admitted that the sanctions that have been put into place were not intended to stop the Russian invasion, but rather to show a united front against Russia. His administration has gone to great lengths to force countries into compliance, including China and India.
Videos emerged on social media that showed Serbians waving Russian flags at rallies across the country. The U.S. on Tuesday continued its pressure campaign against Belgrade to change its mind and impose sanctions on Russia.
“We understand Serbia has a long cultural and economic history with Russia,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, said after the meeting, according to The Associated Press. “But this is a moment where there is great risk if we, as a democratic community, don’t send a united message about the consequences of Russia’s behavior in Ukraine. And our hope is that we will be able to stand with Serbia in the coming weeks and months to send that clear message to Russia.”
The AP pointed out that Serbia has voted in favor of three U.N. resolutions condemning Russia for the invasion.
Athens Not Sending More Military Aid to Ukraine
Nikos Panagiotopoulos, the Greek defense minister, said Wednesday that Athens does not plan on sending additional military equipment to Ukraine because doing so would result in reduced stockpiles in his own country.
Greece sent Kyiv two C-130s with Kalashnikov rifles and portable rocket launchers.
“The defense equipment we sent to Ukraine came from our stocks,” he said. “There is no issue of sending more.”
Politico reported that Athens was one of the first countries in Europe to agree to send arms to Ukraine to fight off the Russians.
“There can be no equal distances. You are either with peace and international law, or against them,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said at the time. “We were always on the right side of history, and we are doing the same now.”
The aid included mainly rifles and anti-tank missiles that were seen largely as symbolic. The report said, “Greek society is not accustomed to such direct military interventions abroad.”
Euractiv reported that the decision by Athens to get involved was not embraced by many in the country. About 66 percent of those polled disagreed with the move while only 29 percent agreed with the move.
TREND FORECAST: Totally absent in the media coverage and with few exceptions, such as Gerald Celente’s Universal Church of Freedom, Peace and Justice and Occupy Peace movement, there are no strong calls for stopping the war and negotiating for peace.
And of the few so-called peace movements and calls for peace that are taking place are essentially anti-Russian focused and pro-Ukraine.
Yet, as evidenced by the Greece poll, there is a silent majority who are opposed to the war machine tactics of supplying more weapons of death.