Serbian president comments on the turn of the conflict in Ukraine – RT Russia and the former Soviet Union

The conflict in Ukraine could drag on for several more winters, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Tuesday, adding that a ceasefire would be good but unlikely. He commented on the hostilities during his visit to Norway, a NATO member which he said Serbia should emulate in terms of technology and economic development.

A question about Ukraine came during a long interview with Serbian television Pink. Earlier this month, Vucic told the same outlet that the battle of Kherson would be the « Stalingrad » and a turning point in the conflict – only for Russia to evacuate from the city to the left bank of the Dnieper.

« When a lot of people started to think the war was over and Ukraine was winning, the Russians started to fight better, » he added. Vucic said. “I’m not saying they have any sort of advantage, though. It will last a long time, and I expect that next winter and even the one after that will be much worse than this.

Asked to comment on Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, Vucic said that Moscow and Kyiv are using everything they have at their disposal, because « There is no love in war. »

The Serbian president added that while he would personally be happy to see a ceasefire and some sort of solution to the fighting, none of that was up to him.

« I’m not a Russian or a Ukrainian – it’s up to them to solve this – or an American to meddle in any of this, » he added. Vucic said.

The EU pressured Serbia to « harmonize » its foreign policy with Brussels and sanctioning Russia, but Vucic insisted on an independent and neutral course for Belgrade. Russia has backed Serbia’s refusal to recognize its breakaway province of Kosovo as an independent state, which the EU is demanding as a precondition for membership talks. Kosovo was originally occupied by NATO troops in 1999.

Vucic is currently visiting Norway, which is a member of NATO but not the EU. After a tour of Oslo and Trondheim, he told reporters he was « glad that Norway is our partner » and that Serbia could « learn a lot » of the Scandinavian country.