Student List answers Vučić’s challenge: Serbia will not impose sanctions on Russia

The Student List today (September 30, 2026) answered the challenge of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, the bearer of the “United Serbia” (“Ujedinjena Srbija”) list. As Nova.rs reports, Vučić once again invited Ilija Srdanović, the first name on the student list “Students Win”, to a televised debate — and if he does not accept, asked for an answer to one question: would they impose sanctions on Russia if they came to power?

The answer came today through a post on X, titled “The student programme on the foreign-policy question and sanctions”: Serbia will keep its “principled position of not imposing restrictive measures against the Russian Federation”, according to reporting by izlaz.com.

The Student List’s full statement: “The Republic of Serbia will continue to adhere to its consistent position that imposing sanctions on any state, entity or individual is an expression of a political stance which does not reflect a conviction that sanctions measures contribute to resolving political and security challenges, especially bearing in mind Serbia’s historical experience and the direct implications of such measures for the country’s population.”

The students returned their questions to the president: “When will those responsible for the canopy collapse be sanctioned? When will we get the two minutes of footage from the Doljevac toll station? Who is to blame for the (non-)handover of Gazivoda? Why do the candidates of the list you head attack and beat citizens?” — adding that these questions require concrete answers, not a debate.

Meanwhile, Srdanović himself told the newspaper Danas that Vučić is not interested in talking to him: “He wants to present me as the bearer of the Student List… This is not a battle between him and me; this is the battle of the people of Serbia against evil, the choice between Serbia and the mafia”, as N1 reports. The clash follows Vučić’s earlier challenge to a televised duel, which 24 Orë had reported on earlier.