site.btaUkrainian Ambassador to Belgrade: Russia Is Blackmailing Serbia with Oil and Gas Supplies

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Serbia Volodymyr Tolkach said in an interview with Danas newspaper that Russia is blackmailing Serbia through its oil and gas supplies.

Tolkach said that Russia does not want to sell its share in the Serbian oil company NIS because it does not want to lose this means of pressure on Serbia and its influence in the Balkans.

“This feels like a kind of deja vu. The energy blackmail that we once experienced in Ukraine is now happening in Serbia. These methods are so familiar to Ukrainians. Refusing to sign and constantly delaying the signing of long-term agreements, citing various excuses, and all this happening just before the time of year when winter is coming. We have been through all of this,” Tolkach said.

He added that Russia has been keeping its partners under pressure for years, and in Ukraine, “it all started with economic blackmail.”

“This happened through gas theft, which may not be possible here because you are far from Russia, but it could still happen. I would not like to make predictions; in our case, it began with a war, and I certainly do not wish that for Serbia. The former Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito understood that Stalin’s only interest was to bring Yugoslavia under his control,” Tolkach said.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Serbia said that the US sanctions against NIS were not imposed due to economic or political interests, but because “Russia is waging an open war against Ukraine in violation of the norms of international law.”

When asked about the existence of Russian paramilitary camps in Serbia that train soldiers sent to fight on the front lines against Ukraine, Tolkach said that he was aware of such camps.

“I know a lot about these camps. Some existed in Transnistria, near Odesa. I think they could also exist in Serbia, because there are many pro-Russian-minded people, even within the government,” Tolkach said.

He added that he has not officially informed the Serbian government about the camps, as he does not consider this a diplomatic matter that can be resolved through diplomatic notes, but rather an issue that Serbia and Ukraine should address through cooperation in the field of security.