BELGRADE, May 6 (Xinhua) -- Serbia will not succumb to the pressures and won't give up its friendships with eastern allies, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said on Friday at a press conference.

Vucic made the remarks while elaborating on Serbia's key priorities amid the international energy and food crisis caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

"Serbia will not trample and extinguish friendships in the East and I do not care what force is pressing me... Also, our strategic path is the path to the European Union (EU) and if people cannot understand that, I ask them to tell me what is an alternative," he said.

Vucic affirmed Serbia's decision not to impose sanctions on Russia, although "the country pays a significant price for such a decision".

Vucic explained that Serbia is completely dependent on Russian natural gas as well as gasoline, expressing hope that the prices will be acceptable to people and the industry.

He announced Serbia will sign a new contract with Russian Gazprom by the end of May for the purchase of natural gas.

Talking about the cooperation with China, he highlighted that it remained one of the two biggest investors in Serbia, along with Germany. He announced that the cooperation with China will intensify in the area of digital technology, artificial intelligence and robotics.

Vucic said that Serbia will try to minimize the impacts of the global energy crisis, assuring that the state finance will maintain stability, while there will be sufficient food. Enditem

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