Aleksandar Vucic
The Serbian president explicitly considers Crimea and Donbass as Ukrainian territories.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Berlin Iran and Serbia, two countries with traditionally good relations with Russia, do not recognize the annexation of Crimea and the eastern Ukrainian territories. This has been publicly stated by high-ranking politicians in both countries.
Iran will not recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea and Donbass, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in an interview with Turkish TV channel TRT World. “We recognize the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states under international law and for that reason, despite the excellent relations between Moscow and Tehran, we do not recognize the secession of Crimea from Ukraine. We do not recognize the separation of Luhansk and Donetsk from Ukraine because we insist on a unified principle in international politics,” said Amir-Abdollahian.
The Iranian foreign minister also pointed out that his country is opposed to the military conflict in Ukraine, but at the same time said that the fighting started mainly because of “provocative actions” by NATO and other western states.
Iran is a close ally of Russia: Tehran has supplied Moscow with Shaded-136 drones, also known as “kamikaze drones”, accused of heavy destruction in Ukrainian cities. Iranian leaders claim the supplies came before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
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However, Western secret services are convinced that Iran continued to supply Russia with drones even after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. According to Moscow business newspaper Vedomosti, Russia and Iran are also discussing the creation of a joint cryptocurrency.
Ukraine war: Serbia withdraws from Russia
Another ally is also pulling away from the Kremlin. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic considers Crimea and Donbass as Ukrainian territories, saying in an interview with Bloomberg: “We said from the beginning that we cannot support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. For us, Crimea is Ukraine, Donbass is Ukraine – and will remain so.”
He added that there are “traditionally good relations” between Moscow and Belgrade. But that doesn’t mean that Serbia supports “all decisions or most decisions that come out of the Kremlin”.
Russia annexed Crimea under international law in March 2014. In late September 2022, a ceremony was held in the Kremlin in which President Vladimir Putin signed treaties on the incorporation of the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and Kherson and regions of Zaporizhia in the Russian state.
More: Putin promises Russians a long war in Ukraine