Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said he was unaware that Serbia did not support the European Union’s statement, which attributed responsibility for the death of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“So far, we have not agreed on such issues, and now, indeed, I cannot tell you about this case because I do not know. But I know that if we haven’t done it so far, I would be surprised if it were different now,” Vučić said as he responded to reporters in Tirana, where he attended a summit of Western Balkan states and the EU.

He said he did not think that the lack of support for the EU’s statement was a “major tragedy”.

“I think it’s very important for Serbia to carefully calculate and independently assess this case.”

The declaration on Navalny’s death was presented on behalf of the EU by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell.

Serbia has not aligned its foreign policy positions with those of the EU in the past, especially on issues related to Russia. Despite calls from the EU for each candidate country aiming for integration into the bloc to align with EU statements and positions, Serbia has continued to ignore these calls.

Serbia has also not joined the sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia due to its unprovoked war against Ukraine.

Navalny, a fierce critic of the Kremlin, died earlier this month in a prison in the Arctic, where he was serving a lengthy sentence on charges of extremism.

His family, colleagues, and many Western governments have directly blamed Putin for Navalny’s death.