Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić met with the Russian Ambassador to Belgrade, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, reaffirming Serbia’s commitment to deepening its relationship with Russia.
Vučić stated that they discussed multiple areas of cooperation and emphasized that “despite numerous obstacles,” Serbian-Russian relations will continue to expand.
“We discussed all key issues of our bilateral cooperation, including highly important energy agreements. I am convinced that cooperation between Serbia and the Russian Federation, despite numerous obstacles, will continue on an upward trajectory,” Vučić wrote after his meeting with Botsan-Kharchenko.
The “obstacles” Vučić referred to include the strong criticism from Brussels over his recent visit to Russia to attend the Victory Day parade and his meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
During their visits to Serbia, EU leaders have repeatedly reminded Belgrade of the strategic path it must follow as a candidate for EU membership.
High Representative Kaja Kallas recently said during her visit to Belgrade:
“I truly don’t understand why it’s necessary to stand side by side with the person waging this terrible war in Ukraine.”
Similarly, European Council President Antonio Costa faced calls to cancel his visit to Serbia over Vučić’s trip to Russia. However, Costa defended his decision:
“The only way to deal with differences is to talk and understand one another—to understand what we need to do together. That’s why I’m here. Many people told me not to come, but I decided to come, because if we have a problem with Serbia, if we have a problem with President Vučić, the solution is not to say ‘don’t go’ and ‘don’t talk’, but to come, to talk, and to explain different viewpoints.”
