Vucic: UN Charter must be respected, but not only when it suits some

DUBROVNIK  - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday he had pointed out at a Ukraine-Southeast Europe summit in Dubrovnik the necessity of respect for the UN Charter and adherence to that principle, but not only when it suited some countries.

"Of course, we do not all think alike here on all issues, but what is important is that we discussed the principle of respect for the territorial integrity of Ukraine. I pointed out the necessity of respect for the UN Charter and adherence to that principle - rather than respect for that principle when it suits some who quickly distance themselves from that principle when it does not suit them," Vucic told reporters.

"The case of Serbia is the best example of this because we still have both the UN Charter and UNSCR 1244 on our side, but many do not want to adhere to that," Vucic said.

He noted it was important that a desire for peace had been expressed at the summit.

"I said my opinion is somewhat different to the opinions of the majority of others, and that I believe it is necessary to achieve peace and that there is no bad compromise. And that is it. I think it is important and good that we discussed the European future of all our countries," Vucic said.

He also said Serbia had succeeded in amending several major points of a declaration adopted at the summit. and that participating countries were now not bound, but only encouraged to align with EU measures.

"Yes, unlike numerous countries that were present here, we support the territorial integrity of Ukraine in line with the UN Charter but, at the same time, we will not impose sanctions on the Russian Federation because that is the policy conducted by the Republic of Serbia," he said.