Serbian president has first phone call with Putin in 2½ years

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić said on Sunday that he had his first telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin in almost two and a half years.

Source: Vučić on Instagram; news agency b92, European Pravda reports

Details: Vučić said that the main topic of the conversation was the anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade by the Red Army, but he also used the opportunity to thank the Russian ruler for providing sufficient amounts of gas for Serbia.

In the video, Vučić said that he had just finished his conversation with the leader of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. He noted that they had not spoken for almost two and a half years and described the conversation as good, open, long, and meaningful.

He added that he was hopeful that Serbia would not impose sanctions on the Russian Federation.

"I expressed my exceptional gratitude for the support of our efforts at the UN on various resolutions, and especially for the continued support of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Serbia. 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," Vučić said.

Later, during the opening of the exhibition, Vučić said that Putin had invited him to take part in next year's Victory Day celebrations on 9 May.

"We spoke as people who have known each other for a long time, as friends, and it was a personal conversation... The phrase that Putin repeated twice was that what is good for Serbia is good for Russia, what is good for Serbs is good for Russians," the Serbian president stressed.

Background:

• Serbia refuses to support the EU sanctions against Moscow, but, according to unofficial reports, sells weapons to Ukraine through intermediaries.
• Estimates suggest that Serbian exports of ammunition that got to Ukraine through third parties have amounted to about €800 million since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
• Vučić recently said that the war in Ukraine would end in a Korean scenario.

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