I don’t know how often I have visited Belgrade, but it has certainly been many times. My first visit – when the country was still governed by President Slobodan Milosevic -- was on behalf of the City of Vienna, where I was active in “cityforeign relations.” The purpose of my visit was to invite representatives from Belgrade to participate in a cooperative project among cities of Southeastern Europe -- from Vienna and Ljubljana to Athens. During this trip, I remember the words my interpreter spoke about the effect of sanctions: “they keep the poor poor, the rich get richer, and the middle class is destroyed.” I still think there is much truth in these words, but -- as in the present case -- I unfortunately do not see an alternative to sanctions.