Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko expressed his belief that Serbia will not change its stance on not imposing sanctions on Russia and that Serbia's cooperation with the European Union on lithium is not an obstacle to developing relations between Russia and Serbia.

„I have never heard from Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic any questionable stance that would make us think that a change in Serbia’s policy is possible. I think it will remain the same,“ Botsan-Kharchenko said in an interview with Vecernje novosti, in response to a question about sanctions on Russia.

He added that another confirmation of this is that „we continue to work together on the implementation of our projects, albeit under difficult conditions, but we proceed step by step, with negotiations on new undertakings.“

Regarding the Memorandum between the EU and Serbia on critical raw materials, Botsan-Kharchenko responded that „we monitor what is crucial, and this is certainly one of the key topics in the economic, political, and domestic political life.“

„Such theses about some kind of shift in Serbia come from those who use this memorandum and the topic of lithium for political purposes. As for the environmental aspect, President Vucic has stated that there will be no harm to Serbia. I have gained the impression that the approach of the president and the government on this issue is very serious,“ Botsan-Kharchenko said.

However, the Russian ambassador added, „certain caution is certainly needed – from our experience in the 1990s, we know very well that the West always seeks something for itself in a neo-colonial manner.“