US-sanctioned Serbia official meets Putin, says Belgrade is an ally and won’t join Western penalties

Serbia’s deputy prime minister has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and vowed that his country will remain an ally of Moscow despite its proclaimed bid to join the European Union. Aleksandar Vulin told Putin on Wednesday in the Russian city of Vladivostok that Serbia will never join Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over the war in Ukraine and that it will never join NATO. The Balkan nation is formally seeking EU entry but harbors very close relations with both Russia and China. The U.S. sanctioned former intelligence chief Vulin last July accusing him of involvement in illegal arms shipments, drug trafficking and misuse of public office.