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Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic claimed he was “tired and overwhelmed” when he mistakenly backed a United Nations resolution Monday at the U.N. General Assembly that blames Russia for the war with its neighbor.
Instead of backing the resolution, Vucic said he actually meant to join the 65 nations who abstained from the vote that called Moscow the aggressor state and for it to “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces” from Ukraine.
Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic said he accidentally voted against Russia in a Ukrainian resolution because he was “probably tired.” (Reuters/Carlo Allegri)
“I believe that Serbia made a mistake today. I apologize to the citizens of Serbia for that, and I take the blame for that because I was probably tired and overwhelmed,” Vucic, who is generally considered pro-Russian, told Serbia’s public broadcaster RTS.
“I didn’t have time to deal with this (issue) enough, maybe I’m too tired, maybe I have too many things (to deal with)… I don’t think we should pander to any power, neither Russians nor Americans,” he added. “I think it was in the interest of the state of Serbia. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen,”
Moscow has accepted Vucic’s apology.
President Donald Trump addresses the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 24, 2019, in New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“Of course, we heard it. Of course, we accepted it. Indeed, technical errors do happen and, of course, such a prompt reaction from the head of state is very appealing to us,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said, according to RIA News.
Like Belarus, Serbia is one of Russia’s closest allies in Europe.
Monday’s vote shocked some when the United States stood with 18 other nations in voting against the Ukrainian resolution.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers his address to the nation in Moscow, June 26, 2023. (AP)
“President Trump is committed to ending the Russia-Ukraine war and to a resolution that leads to a lasting peace, not just a temporary pause,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
