BELGRADE, Serbia 

Serbia will try to maintain its position on the Ukraine crisis as long as possible, said President on Monday.

Aleksandar Vucic's remarks came after Swedish diplomat Carl Bildt's statement that Serbia's stand on the crisis disqualified it from the European Union accession process.

"They are not able to make fun of those who are equally strong. They look at who they can. Congratulations to Bildt, he succeeded in life, let him and others continue," said Vucic.

Vucic said that he accepted all the criticism and pressure from the EU and other world leaders.

"For me, the previous days are literally like a nightmare, the most difficult in my professional work. I accepted all criticism, remarks, pressures," said Vucic.

Serbia's Council for National Security decided last week not to join the European Union in imposing sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine but lent support to the territorial integrity.

Vucic said Serbia stands for peace, respects international law and it will protect its interests.

Since Russia's war on Ukraine began last Thursday, it has been met by outrage from the international community, with the EU, UK, and US implementing a range of economic sanctions against Russia.

Russia was further isolated after its planes were barred from flying in European and Canadian airspace, and a number of its banks were kicked out of the SWIFT international banking system.