The President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, canceled a scheduled meeting with Serbian Prime Minister Milosh Vucevic on Friday in Belgrade, confirmed EC spokesperson Eric Mamer for Radio Free Europe.
The reason for the cancellation, according to the spokesperson, was a prior meeting that Vucevic held earlier that same day with Russia’s Minister of Economic Development, Maksim Reshetnikov.
Earlier on Friday, the EC President had met with Serbia’s President, with whom she discussed Serbia’s path toward European Union integration.
Vucevic met with Russia’s Minister of Economic Development, Maksim Reshetnikov, in the Serbian capital on Friday, the day von der Leyen was in Serbia as part of her Western Balkans tour.
The Serbian government stated that Vucevic and Reshetnikov discussed further strengthening of economic and general cooperation between the two countries.
Reshetnikov is among several Moscow officials under Western sanctions due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022.
Reshetnikov remarked that Moscow “values Serbia’s balanced policy” and its stance on refraining from imposing sanctions on Russia, according to the statement.
In a statement from the Serbian government, the Prime Minister, discussing sanctions against Russia, said that despite significant pressure, Serbia “leads an independent and free policy” and maintains good cooperation with Russia, the European Union, China, and other nations.
