Serbia PM Brnabic: Refusal To Join Russia Sanctions Main Obstacle To EU Bid

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić has told reporters that Serbia's ongoing refusal to enact sanctions on Russia is the main obstacle to Belgrade's European Union accession ambitions.

• Brnabic: "It seems... that the level of alignment with common foreign and defence policies of the European Union, hence introduction of sanctions on the Russian Federation, is a condition above all conditions."
• Reuters: "Although it has repeatedly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the United Nations and other international forums, Serbia has been criticised by Brussels for not formally introducing sanctions against Moscow."
• Serbia's relationship with Russia is seen as more complex than other European states. Serbia is highly dependent of gas imports from Russia and its military is largely based on Soviet-era and Russian-made hardware.
• Serbia membership bid is also complicated by an EU condition calling for a nomalisation of relations with Kosovo.