The Serbian leader apologized for a "mistake" made during the vote in support of Ukraine.

Serbia, which had previously voted "in favor" of key UN resolutions supporting Ukraine, made a mistake this time, according to Vucic. He emphasized that the responsibility lies entirely with him. "I don't think we should flatter any power, neither the Russians nor the Americans. When it came to the US resolution, Serbia abstained and voted accordingly," Vucic's words are reported by Radio Free Europe’s Balkan Service.

On Monday, February 24, marking the third anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the UN General Assembly approved two resolutions related to the war. One of these, which was supported by Serbia among others, was prepared by Kyiv and European countries. It condemns Russian aggression and demands an end to the war as soon as possible and compensation for the damage caused to Ukraine. Eighteen countries, including the US and Russia, opposed the document. Following the change of administration in the White House, the United States prepared its own draft this time, which did not include a condemnation of Russia.

In response to Alexander Vucic's apologies, Russian state agencies disseminated a comment from the Kremlin on Tuesday, stating that Moscow appreciates the prompt reaction of the Serbian president. Meanwhile, the press secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, mentioned in a conversation with journalists "technical errors that do indeed occur," although Vucic did not refer to what he considered a mistake as "technical."

• UN General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding but are considered indicators of global opinion.
• Serbia, like Turkey, which is also seeking EU membership, has not joined the sanctions imposed by Brussels against Moscow over the war in Ukraine.