The head of the Ministry of Economy of Serbia, Rade Basta, was dismissed after calls for sanctions against Russia, the decision was made at the request of First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and leader of the United Serbia party Dragan Markovic Palma. This was reported by the Novosti newspaper, citing a source.
The chairman of the executive council of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SPP), Darko Glisic, called on Basta to “shut his mouth” and demanded that the president start arresting right-wing activists. The head of the "United Serbia" announced the resignation of Basta, and then his exclusion from the party.
He was given a deadline to resign "from all the positions" to which their coalition nominated him, which includes the position of minister.
The “Movement of Socialists” of the head of the Serbian Security and Information Agency Alexander Vulin also called for the resignation of the minister.
In March, Basta argued that Serbia could no longer tolerate pressure, Belgrade needed to impose sanctions on the Russian Federation.
“Our country is already paying a high price for not imposing sanctions on Russia. It becomes unbearable. I cannot accept the pressure being put on President Aleksandar Vučić and we remain silent. For this reason, I am in favor of imposing sanctions against Russia.”
Earlier in April, Republika Srpska Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that Serbia was able to benefit financially and economically from Russian citizens who chose to leave Russia because of the invasion of Ukraine. The country takes in Russian citizens, helps them settle in a new place, and in return receives a highly skilled workforce with pro-European views, Brnabic told Bloomberg.