The new government of Serbia, which includes two politicians who have been on the U.S. sanctions list since last year, has been overwhelmingly approved by parliament.
The legislative body voted 152-61 on May 2 to approve the new government after more than six hours of debate. There were no abstentions, but only 213 out of 250 members voted.
The new government will have 25 ministries and five ministers without portfolios.
The two cabinet members designated by the United States for sanctions are Aleksandar Vulin, who will serve as deputy prime minister, and Nenad Popovic, who was tapped as one of the ministers without portfolio.
Vulin, a former director of Serbia’s BIA security agency, was hit by U.S. sanctions in July 2023 for "corrupt and destabilizing acts that have also facilitated Russia's malign activities in the region."
Popovic, a businessman and former minister without portfolio, was added to the sanctions list in November 2023 for allegedly "operating in or having operated in the electronics sector of the Russian Federation economy."
The United States said it was "disappointed" that two individuals under U.S. sanctions have been included in the new government.
"Our position on Mr. Vulin and Mr. Popovic is well-known," a U.S. State Department spokesman told RFE/RL in a written statement on May 1. "They remain under U.S. sanctions."
He added, however, that Washington plays no role in the appointments in the Serbian government.
Prime Minister-elect Milos Vucevic, leader of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), told the parliament on May 1 that his cabinet will be a government of continuity to the greatest extent possible and membership in the European Union remained the country’s strategic goal.
However, he said that the European Union's expectations were tied to Serbia "humiliating" itself by recognizing Kosovo's independence and joining sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. He said Serbia will not renounce friendship with Russia and will maintain its policy of not joining the sanctions.
The government was formed 4 1/2 months after the SNS and its coalition partners won a narrow majority of 129 mandates in the legislature in a close-fought vote that was marred by allegations of fraud.