Belgrade: Aleksandar Vucic, president of Serbia, said on Thursday that any efforts made by the West to aid Ukraine in defeating Russia militarily were futile and urged Moscow and Kiev to hold peace negotiations.
While Western nations are giving Ukraine significant military support, Vucic told Happy TV that "now it is clear that there is nothing to it" and that a "easy end" to the conflict is not in the cards.
The Serbian leader asserted that "a war of attrition is being fought, and despite all the might of the West, Russia will not be vanquished on the battlefield."
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Although Vucic is "not sure what Russia has to gain politically," he noted that a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine would be the ideal result. The president stated, "I see initiatives coming from some Arab countries, and I hope that something will bring us closer to peace," adding that a halt to hostilities would also be in US President Joe Biden's best interests since he is up for reelection in 2024.
"The economy would boom right away, and energy costs would plummet. It would be much simpler in every way. The economy is the primary concern in the US election, in my opinion, Vucic said.
The same, he added, would apply to Russia and Ukraine, both of which the president described as being "exhausted," though he did point out that Moscow was faring better under Western sanctions than "many expected."
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The Serbian president foresaw a potential escalation in the Ukraine conflict in June and warned that Kiev's much-heralded offensive, which Russia claims has made no progress, might prompt a stern response from Moscow.
Vucic's remarks follow a recent summit in Jeddah that was hosted by Saudi Arabia and attended by representatives from about 40 nations. While Russia's partners from the BRICS group—Brazil, India, China, and South Africa—as well as Ukraine and some of its Western backers like the US and UK were on the list, Russia itself was not. Moscow has argued that any peace negotiations are useless without its involvement.
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The summit did not produce an official communique, but according to the Wall Street Journal, Ukraine did not press its demand that Russia withdraw its troops from all of the territory it claims as its own in exchange for peace. Ukraine, on the other hand, denied that it had abandoned its plan, which rejects any ground-level accommodation with Moscow.