Hill on Zelensky's visit: Serbia's military neutrality is misunderstood; Belgrade understands that the country's future lies in the West

Former United States Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Belgrade is significant and demonstrates that Serbia's relations with the West are improving.

Speaking to BBC Serbian, Hill emphasized that many people have, to some extent, misunderstood Serbia's military neutrality in the past.

"They believed that it implied neutrality in the sense of being equally distant from different countries, but that is not actually the case. Serbia maintains close relations with a number of Western countries. The fact that Serbia is intensifying its activities regarding Ukraine reflects precisely these improving relations," Hill said.

He stated that relations between Serbia and Ukraine are moving in a very positive direction, recalling that Serbia has opened an embassy in Kyiv and appointed an ambassador there in recent years.

"This is simply a continuation of that process, and I truly believe that Serbia understands where its future lies—and that is in the West. Over the past three years, that is, shortly after the outbreak of the war, Serbia has intensified its relations with Ukraine. It has provided significant assistance to Ukraine and cooperated with others in providing support to the electricity grid and in other areas," Hill said.

Commenting on Serbia's refusal to impose sanctions on Russia, Hill said that the Serbian Government had taken the position that it would be difficult to explain to citizens why the country should join the sanctions regime.

"That is why I believe that what Serbia has done, both in terms of assistance and in other areas of cooperation, is very significant, and I hope that others will recognize this as well," Hill said, adding that Russia would not welcome Zelensky's visit to Belgrade, but that it "currently has many other things to worry about."