Belarus invites Serbia to turn to Russia-led bloc

(3 Dec 2019) Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Tuesday welcomed Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko at a ceremony in Belgrade. Belarus' president has called on Serbia to establish closer ties with a Russian-led economic group, despite the Balkan country's efforts to become a member of the European Union. Lukashenko said at a joint news conference with Vucic that he respects Serbia's proclaimed EU goals. But he said if the European bloc continues with "ultimatums", Serbia should turn to the Eurasian Economic Union. The EEU consists of Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. France is leading a group of EU states calling for an overhaul of the procedures to admit new members to the bloc, putting on hold membership hopes for Serbia and other Western Balkan countries. That has raised fears of increased Russian and Chinese influence in the region that was at war in the 1990s. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...