Russia says West issued 'ultimatum' to Serbia

Russia believes that the West has issued an "ultimatum" to Serbia to force Belgrade to choose "any side other than Moscow".

"The West initially set conditions for Serbia, forcing it to make a difficult choice, like choosing the West or choosing Russia, instead of harmoniously combining different development paths, in line with the interests of the Serbian people," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said today.

Ms Zakharova said recent comments from the West appeared to be issuing an ultimatum to Serbia, telling it to “pick whichever side you like, as long as it’s not Russia”. According to Ms Zakharova, Ukraine was once in a similar “us or them” situation as Serbia, but all warnings were ignored.

Serbian officials have not commented on the information.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in Moscow on April 4. Photo: AFP — Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in Moscow on April 4. Photo: *AFP*

Serbia, which has good relations with Russia, is rocked by anti-government protests after the opposition accused the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) of rigging the December 17 parliamentary election, which resulted in a victory over the pro-European Union Serbian Alliance Against Violence (SPN).

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has denied allegations of vote rigging and said the protests were backed by the West. Vucic says the West wants to oust him because of his close ties with Russia and Serbia's claims to Kosovo. The breakaway region declared independence in 2008, but Serbia does not recognize it.

The Kremlin welcomed the election results in Serbia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said on December 25 that foreign-backed forces in Serbia were trying to spark unrest. Earlier, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic confirmed that Russian security had warned the country about "color revolution"-style protests before they broke out in Belgrade.

Nhu Tam (According to TASS, Reuters )

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