Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Monday that Belgrade "has not changed its policy on sanctions on Russia" over its invasion of Ukraine.

He told the state TV Vojvodina (RTV) that the policy defined by the Council for National Security has not been changed. “At present, our foreign policy is 46 percent aligned with that of the European Union. We will try to get it more aligned but the problem is that most of the resolutions and declarations which we have to accept are about the crisis in Ukraine and Russia. We have to have a careful and balanced approach,” he said.

According to him, Belgrade needs “understanding of our situation on the Kosovo issue” which is linked to Russia’s support. He said that only a balanced approach to resolving the Kosovo issue can work.

He said that he hadn’t read the Franco-German proposal but that, based on what President Aleksandar Vucic disclosed at the Council for National Security “there are no good grounds to even discuss its details”. “That solution means the independence of Kosovo with Serbia’s role being not to complain too much,” he said and added that the Council members said that is unacceptable.

Dacic said that Serbia is prepared to continue the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue and be constructive but is not prepared to unblock Kosovo’s membership in the UN.