UPDATE - Serbian President Vows To Resist Sanctions On Russia For As Long As Possible

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd May, 2022) Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic says the National Security Council will avoid aligning with sanctions on Russia as long as it can amid the opposition's calls to side with the West.

"Our duty is to our country. We must stick to the decisions written down by the National Security Council as close as we can and for as long as we can," he told tv Pink on Saturday.

Vucic said that he hopes to discuss gas supplies with Russian President Vladimir Putin next week.

"I will likely talk to President Putin on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. I expect a good and decent conversation, as always. But I also expect three aspects of a possible agreement: the most important thing for us is the volume, number two is the price, number three is the reliability of supply, which we have not had problems with so far," the Serbian leader told TV Pink.

Serbia voted with the majority of the UN Human Rights Council last month to suspend Russia from the group over Ukraine. In return, the European Union exempted Serbia from its sanctions on Russian oil and gas imports.

Vucic told TV Pink that his administration had partially backed EU sanctions on Belarus. He said it endorsed nine of the 25 measures brought forth by the Council of the European Union on April 8.

On May 5, Vucic reaffirmed Serbia's commitment to the status of a neutral state after a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Serbia's state-owned natural gas provider Srbijagas has an active contract with Russia's energy giant Gazprom for six million cubic meters of gas per day. The contract expires on May 31, but Serbia plans to sign a new deal with Russia for 10 years.