Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said that Serbia mistakenly voted for the European resolution regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine at the UN General Assembly, reports RTS.
“I believe that Serbia made a mistake today. I apologize to the citizens of Serbia for this, and I take the blame for it, because I am probably tired and burdened and cannot do everything,” Vucic said.
The European resolution, supported by Ukraine and its European allies, explicitly condemned Russia’s actions in Ukraine and was adopted with 93 votes in favor, 18 against, and 65 abstentions. Vučić stated that Serbia should have abstained from this vote, similar to how it abstained from the US resolution, which did not explicitly name Russia as an aggressor
The Serbian leader explained that he sometimes fails to examine all materials and amendments thoroughly because he is “too tired.”
“The explanation I received after the vote at the UN, where to be clear about what happened, we voted for the European resolution. Regarding the American resolution, we voted exactly as we should have – we abstained. In my opinion, we should have abstained on the European resolution as well. And, as you can see, I am saying this at a time when it is quite clear that because of this I will lose favor or political points in the EU. I believe that Serbia should have abstained,” he explained.
Vucic apologized to Serbian citizens for the voting error.
On 20 February, Reuters reported that the United States declined to co-sponsor a UN resolution supporting Ukraine for the first time.
According to The Washington Post, the White House also asked Ukraine to withdraw the annual resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine, proposing to replace it with a softened US statement, which Kyiv perceived as pro-Russian.
On 24 February, the UN General Assembly approved both Ukrainian and American versions of resolutions regarding Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Later, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution on the war in Ukraine proposed by the United States. The document does not mention Russia as an aggressor.
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