Tolkachh: Good meeting between Vucic and Zelenskyy; we have common interests

The meeting between the Presidents of Serbia and Ukraine in Athens was good for the bilateral relations between the two countries, the Ambassador of Ukraine in Belgrade, Volodymyr Tolchak assessed, who called the meeting a new and important step in the cooperation between the two countries and denied the announcement by MEP Viola von Cramon that Aleksandar Vucic, in a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had offered weapons to the Ukrainian leader.

"We are not on the market; we can't just trade like that. It doesn't work like that. I'll politely say that's not true," Tolkach said for N1.

He also referred to yesterday's national holiday of Ukraine, which was also celebrated in Belgrade.

"Ukraine has been celebrating its independence day for 32 years, but it has been a year and a half since the beginning of Russian aggression, and it is a very painful topic for us. Thousands of Ukrainians died during this war, as well as more than 500 children. This year, we can only confirm that our independence is something that we should only defend," Tolkach says.

He expressed his gratitude to the citizens of Serbia who understood the problems of Ukraine and emphasized that not all citizens accepted this attitude towards Ukraine.

"Time is the best medicine and time will show who is right. For me, the one who defends himself and who defends his family is right," Tolkach said.

Speaking about the part of Serbia that supports the Russian aggression against Ukraine, Tolkach stated that since 2014 propaganda had been conducted and that it was being misused.

When it comes to the relations between Serbia and Ukraine, Tolkach says, "Let's take Bakhmut for example. It is a city that was completely destroyed by Russian aggression. And many Serbs actually do not know that that city was the administrative center of the Slavo-Serbia territory, which was inhabited by the Serbs in the 17th century. The Russians destroyed that city and thus destroyed our common history."

He also says that some Serbian politicians "built their political platform on unity with Russia, but they forget that friendship dates back to the Russian Empire, which included Ukraine."

He notes that there is Russian influence in Serbia and explains that "some politicians want to get some benefit from Moscow".

He stated that Serbia depended more on Russian resources than some other countries and reminded that a large number of countries had rejected resources from Russia and had turned to alternative suppliers.

Commenting on the meeting between Vucic and Zelenskyy, he stated that the first meeting between the two leaders had been at a conference in Chisinau, half a year ago.

"These days we are witnessing the second one, which was prepared in advance and our leaders discussed important issues. Also, they tried to find understanding. This is a good tendency for us. I hope this tendency will continue to develop in the future. It is good that they met in Athens and discussed important issues at the same table. It is in our common interest to defend state sovereignty and integrity. As you know, Ukraine has never rejected that principle from the very beginning. We have always supported the territorial integrity of Serbia," Tolkach said.

He notes that the two presidents "agreed at the meeting that this principle will not change in the future".

He also reminded that Prime Minister Ana Brnabic had sent a message to the participants of the Crimea Platform for the first time.

"It is also a positive sign for our future cooperation," Tolkach said.