Belgrade supports Havana in making decisions independently

MUP Srbije

Aleksandar Vulin, Serbia's Interior Minister, told the Cuban ambassador to Serbia Gustavo Tristá del Todo that Belgrade supported Havana's right to bring its decision independently.

Vulin thanked Cuban authorities for their support of Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and the refusal to back Kosovo’s applications to join international organisations such as Interpol. Havana does not recognise Kosovo’s independence.

The Minister said Serbia was glad about the traditionally good relations with Cuba, adding it saw the country as an honest friend and ally.

Cuba is among the countries Serbia nourishes relations with, although the European Union had strained links with some of them, including Havana in recent years due to Cuba’s poor human rights record and the EU’s numerous accusations of the country’s human rights abuses.

Serbia’s authorities pledge they want the country to join the EU, but Brussels, among other things, insists on Belgrade’s harmonisation with its foreign policy as one of the main conditions for full membership.

Official Belgrade says that condition must be met at the end of the accession negotiations.