Volodymyr Tolkach, the Ukrainian Ambassador to Serbia, said in an interview with N1, that he is grateful that Serbia increased humanitarian aid to his country and that it is meeting all please and requests of Ukraine. Pročitaj više

He noted that there are some still unresolved issues between the two countries but that their common goal – the road to the European Union, requires that their policies are harmonised with the EU policies. This primarily refers to, he stressed, the sanctions that Serbia has not introduced against “the aggressor” i.e. the Russian Federation.

According to him, it is Russia’s propaganda in Serbia that impacts this decision.

“For instance, there is information spreading in Serbia that this is a war between the West and the East i.e. that the Russian Federation is fighting against the NATO members on the territory of Ukraine. That is the war between Ukraine and the Russian Federation for the independence of our state Ukraine, the fight for independence and territorial integrity that we fight for on daily basis. The help that our western partners provide us is the help that is welcomed and with that we are fighting for our independence, our territorial integrity and our borders,” said the ambassador.

Asked what should the citizens of Serbia use as a source of information about the war in Ukraine, Tolkach replied that this is the matter of the accurate presenting of information.

“Each media outlet here has an opportunity to read our press releases. If someone is dealing professionally with information, with their job, then there should be no problem with presenting all that information,” he said.

For two years of his mandate in Serbia, the ambassador stressed, he has been trying and managing to establish trust with the authorities but also the trust between the two countries.

He also said he is sure that Serbia is providing to Ukraine everything it can.

“It is important to say that the citizens of Serbia, open their hearts and accepted everyone who suffered in Ukraine, to make them feel her like home and that is very important to Ukraine. On the other hand, if Serbia joins military and political assistance to Ukraine, we will be exceptionally grateful,” he added.