Serbia 'committed' to EU despite Vucic's Moscow visit: bloc chief Costa

European Council chief Antonio Costa on Tuesday insisted that Serbia was fully committed to theEUaccession process, despite the country's president visiting Moscow last week. Aleksandar Vucic attended the May 9 celebrations to mark 80 years since the victory over Nazi Germany, even afterEUwarnings that doing so would not be viewed favourably. Also Read: Last American hostage 21-year-old Edan Alexander released, Netanyahu faces backlash at home amid Gaza offensive Serbia has been anEUcandidate country since 2012 but has maintained a close relationship with Russia since the invasion of Ukraine and refuses to impose sanctions, unlike the European Union it hopes to join. "We cannot celebrate the liberation 80 years ago and not condemn the invasion of a country today," Costa said at a joint press conference with Vucic, adding that Serbia is aware that, on the path toEUmembership, it must align with theEU's foreign and security policy. Also Read: Family, fake disease and a special dish: All about Australia's 'Mushroom' murder mystery Vucic said Serbia "supports the territorial integrity of all countries in the world, including Ukraine" and thatEUmembership is the country's strategic commitment. "Serbia today and Serbia tomorrow is on the European path. I accept criticisms. Serbia in Europe is our path, it is our goal, it is our political will," he said. Serbia, whose majority of trade is with theEU, has been walking a delicate tightrope between Brussels and Moscow for nearly three years. Belgrade, which has welcomed hundreds of thousands of Russians since February 2022, relies almost entirely on Russia for its gas supplies and is currently negotiating a new multi-year gas deal with Moscow, as the current agreement expires at the end of May.

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During his visit to Moscow, Vucic highlighted the energy negotiations as an important reason for his trip. TheEUhas often expressed concerns about the ties between Serbia and Russia and regularly urged Serbia to align its foreign and security policies with its own. The Balkan country, however, has never adhered to European sanctions against Russia, and several of its ministers have regularly travelled to Russian territory in recent years. In mid-April, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos called for urgent reform. EUexpectations of Belgrade were "almost the same" as protesters who have been campaigning for months against institutional corruption, after a deadly railway station roof collapse in the city of Novi Sad last year. Also Read: Xi Jinping's 'self-isolation' message to Trump after trade deal, China says 'stop shifting blame' on fentanyl

With inputs from agencies