Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Thursday in Moscow that maintaining relations with Russia and China is a “vital interest” for Serbia.
He made these comments after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who praised the relations between the Russian Federation and Serbia. “The tone of these relations is regularly set by the contacts of Presidents (Vladimir) Putin and (Aleksandar) Vucic.”
The head of Russian diplomacy expressed interest in hearing Serbia's assessment of the “serious” situation in the Balkans “and we are all interested in preventing new crises”.
The Serbian minister said that bilateral relations are at a very high level, “despite all the obstacles we are experiencing”.
After the meeting, he said that he thanked Russia for its stance and firm support of Serbia and its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
“It is vitally important for us to know that we have a safe voice in the United Nations Security Council,” Minister Dacic told Serbian media.
This is the first visit of the Serbian Foreign Minister to Moscow, since Russia launched its aggression in Ukraine in February 2022.
Serbia, a candidate country for European Union membership, has not joined Western sanctions against Russia, which backs Belgrade's claims to Kosovo, which declared independence in 2008 with Western backing.
On Tuesday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic congratulated Russian leader Vladimir Putin on winning presidential elections in Russia, which the West said were neither fair nor democratic.
Ministers Lavrov and Dacic met before a friendly football match between Russia and Serbia, the first match of the Russian national team against a European team since the aggression in Ukraine.
*Parts of this material were obtained from the Associated Press news agency