The tendency to attack non-mainstream politicians in the bloc is becoming “increasingly evident,” Dmitry Peskov has said
© Sputnik / Natalya Seliverstova
The EU is drifting away from the “democracy standards” it has long preached and systemic persecution of non-mainstream politicians is becoming “increasingly evident,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Peskov made the remarks on Thursday when asked about claims that the EU has allegedly been pressing Belgrade to exclude Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin from the country’s new cabinet, as well as considering personal sanctions against him.
“Unfortunately, in recent months the tendency towards political persecution in European countries and in European institutions has become increasingly evident — political persecution of those politicians whose opinions go beyond the mainstream. One can only express regret about that,” Peskov told Russian media.
The EU’s suppression of against dissent has only eroded the bloc’s own democratic institutions, Peskov aid, describing the situation as “quite sad.”
“Europeans should not do this. They themselves depart from standards of what they call and have always called democracy. Beyond the standards of what they have always tried to teach other countries, including us,” he said.
The plans to take action against Vulin were reported in the aftermath of his speech at the European Parliament earlier this week, during which the deputy PM said Serbia will never “go to war against Russia for the sake of EU membership,” describing Moscow as Belgrade’s only “steadfast ally.”
Vulin also called out the bloc over its selective approach to aspiring members, claiming Belgrade has been told that “Ukraine and Moldova will become the next fully-fledged EU members” despite not having fulfilled “even a single” membership condition. Serbia has been meeting “every wish and demand” of the bloc for some 20 years already, he noted.
The EU sanctions against Vuiln could come into effect within the next few days, an unnamed source has told TASS.