President Serbia Aleksandar Vucic reported on Sunday that he had the first telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin for almost two and a half years. The Serbian leader, in a video posted on social media, described the conversation as “good, open, long and meaningful.”
Vučić reported that the main topic was the anniversary of the liberation Belgrade by the Red Army, but he also took advantage of the opportunity to thank Putin for providing enough gas to Serbia.
Serbia. The president talked to Putin. First time in 2.5 years
Vucic stressed that Serbia will not change its position on Western sanctions against Russia. – I expressed my exceptional gratitude for supporting our efforts in… UN on various resolutions, and especially for the continued support for the territorial integrity of Republika Srpska. This is something that will not change. I believe that this will contribute to the further development of Serbian-Russian relations and that we will be able not only to help each other, but also to develop trust between our peoples and our countries, said the Serbian leader.
He added that the conversation with Putin was a conversation between “friends who have known each other for a long time.” – The sentence that Vladimir Putin repeated twice was: What is good for Serbia is good for Russia, what is good for Serbs is good for Russians, Vučić emphasized.
Serbia moving away from Russia?
Serbia, although it has condemned Russia's invasion on several occasions Ukraine and violation of the territorial integrity of this country, has not joined the imposed on Moscow international sanctions. Since February 22, 2022, President Vučić has not met the Russian leader in person, but relations between the countries have been maintained at the ministerial level.
Economic specialists have pointed out in recent weeks that the decline in trade between countries indicates to the gradual separation of Serbia from Russia. The distance of Belgrade from Moscow has recently become more and more noticeable. On October 7, the President of Serbia did not wish Putin a happy birthday. Two days later, he took part in the Ukraine-Southeastern Europe summit in Dubrovnik, where he signed a declaration condemning the Russian attack on Ukraine.
At the end of August, he met with the president France Emmanuel Macron. Both sides have agreed to deliver 12 Rafale fighters to Serbia worth nearly EUR 2.7 billion. Macron said the deal would be a “strategic change” for Serbia. The contract to replace obsolete Russian MiG-29s was agreed just hours before the French president's arrival.
According to unofficial reports reported by the Ukraińska Pravda website, Belgrade sells weapons to Kiev through intermediaries. According to estimates, Serbian ammunition exports since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion amounted to approximately EUR 800 million. Vucic recently said that in his opinion the war in Ukraine will end according to the Korean scenario.
Let us remind you that the anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade from German occupation during World War II falls on October 20. This is the day the city was captured by the Red Army and Josip Broz Tito's partisan units. Belgrade was under occupation for three years and seven months.
Source: Reuters, Ukrainian Pravda
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