Moscow criticizes ‘political persecution’ in EU

(MENAFN) The European Union is moving away from the democratic principles it has long championed, increasingly targeting politicians with dissenting views, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. His comments followed reports that the EU is pressuring Serbia to exclude Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin from its new government and may impose personal sanctions against him.

Peskov criticized what he described as growing political persecution within the EU, specifically targeting figures who deviate from the mainstream political narrative. “This trend has become more and more apparent in recent months,” he said, adding that such actions contradict the democratic values the EU claims to uphold.

According to Peskov, this suppression of dissent only weakens the EU’s own democratic institutions. “Europe is stepping away from the standards it has always preached to others, including Russia,” he remarked.

The possible sanctions against Vulin come after his speech at the European Parliament, where he declared that Serbia would never turn against Russia to gain EU membership, calling Moscow Belgrade’s only reliable ally. He also criticized the EU’s inconsistent treatment of membership candidates, pointing out that Ukraine and Moldova are being fast-tracked into the bloc despite failing to meet key conditions, while Serbia has spent two decades complying with EU demands.

An anonymous source told TASS that sanctions against Vulin could be imposed within days.

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