Serbian President Alexander Vucic apologized for voting against Russia in a United Nations resolution, claiming it was an accident due to being “tired.”
On Monday, Serbia voted in favor of a Ukrainian resolution in the U.N. General Assembly condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine, explicitly calling Russia the aggressor state. The move shocked many, as Serbia has long been one of the most pro-Russian states on Earth. After domestic backlash, Vucic said that the vote was an accident.
“I believe that Serbia made a mistake today. I apologize to the citizens of Serbia for that, and I take the blame for that because I was probably tired and overwhelmed,” he said in an interview with Serbian television.
“I didn’t have time to deal with this (issue) enough, maybe I’m too tired, maybe I have too many things (to deal with)… I don’t think we should pander to any power, neither Russians nor Americans. I think it was in the interest of the state of Serbia. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen,” Vucic added.
Vucic said that Serbia should have abstained from the vote, as it had previously. He added that the change would probably result in him “losing favor or political points in the EU.”
Russia accepted Vucic’s apology.
“Of course, we heard it. Of course, we accepted it. Indeed, technical errors do happen and, of course, such a prompt reaction from the head of state is very appealing to us,” Kremlin Spokesman Dmitri Peskov said, according to RIA News.
Monday’s vote was notable for having the United States vote against the resolution, a major turnaround from previous votes during the Biden administration.
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Outside of close ally Belarus, Serbia is Russia’s closest friend in Europe. The two Orthodox, Slavic countries share a close historical bond, and the alliance between Serbia and Russia triggered World War I in 1914. More recently, Russia has strongly backed Serbia in its dispute over its historical territory of Kosovo, a dispute which contributed heavily to the deterioration of relations with the West.
Public opinion surveys consistently find overwhelmingly positive views of Russia within Serbia and sympathy for its stance in the War in Ukraine, an outlier among European countries. Belgrade has sought to balance relations between Russia and the West in recent years, refusing to impose sanctions but retaining ambiguity on its stance regarding the war.