Serbia Asks Russia to Veto British UNSC Resolution on Srebrenica

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic sent a letter to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, asking him to veto a resolution on Srebrenica massacre proposed by Britain at the UN Security Council, Večernje Novosti reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The United Kingdom presented the fourth draft of the resolution earlier this week, but Serbia considers the text inappropriate.

In July 1995, according to UN estimates, over 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in the Bosnian city of Srebrenica after the city had been taken by units of the Army of Republika Srpska.

The document names the Srebrenica massacre “a genocide” 27 times, while using the word “reconciliation” 7 times only.

The resolution is expected to be considered in the UN Security Council on July 7, four days before the 20th anniversary of tragic events in Srebrenica.

The Serbian president has sent letters to other heads of UN Security Council member states, as well as to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The letters highlight that the resolution puts blame only on one side of the conflict, thus escalating tensions.

Earlier in the day, Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic in an exclusive interview with the RTS said that if Russia decided not to veto a resolution, this would not be a tragedy, meaning that the country could only "rely on itself.

In June, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the resolution on Srebrenica proposed at the UN Security Council could trigger new ethnic friction in the Balkans.