Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said today that in a telephone conversation with the Russian head of state Vladimir Putin expressed hope, as in their previous conversation two and a half years ago, that Serbia will not introduce sanctions against Russia, TANYUG reported.
In the conversation on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade from fascist occupation in the Second World War, Vucic also thanked Putin for the Russian Federation's support for the Serbian efforts at the UN on various issues, as well as for the support of the territorial integrity of Serbia.
"I just finished a conversation with Putin, we haven't spoken in almost two and a half years. We had a good, open, long and meaningful conversation on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade, and I thanked Putin for his congratulations and highlighted the steadfast and freedom-loving spirit of the Serbian people, as well as the gratitude of Serbia and our people," Vucic said in video message posted on Instagram.
The previous telephone conversation between Vucic and Putin was on May 29, 2022, TASS reminds.
Vucic said the two exchanged views on all important bilateral issues and that he thanked Putin for, through the CEO of "Gazprom" Alexey Miller has guaranteed that "Russia will also provide Serbia with sufficient quantities of gas this winter".
He emphasized that Serbia, although a candidate for EU membership, will not change its position on the issue of imposing sanctions on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Belgrade condemned the violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity, but refused to impose sanctions.
„Serbia will not impose sanctions on the Russian Federation. This will not change”, stressed Vucic, quoted by France Press.
The agency notes that this conversation is taking place as Russia awaits an official response to Putin's invitation in September for Vucic to participate in the BRICS summit in Kazan from October 22 to 24.
„If I say that I am going to Kazan, it will mean the end of Serbia's European path. If I say anything else, they will claim that I have betrayed the Russians,” the Serbian president said earlier this week, adding that he would announce his final decision on the trip by Monday.
On Friday, the Serbian president received a congratulatory message from his Russian counterpart on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade from fascist occupation in World War II, TANYUG reported.
"The offensive operation in Belgrade, carried out eight decades ago by the troops of the Red Army and Yugoslav partisan units, is a glorious page in our common history. Thousands of Soviet soldiers who fell in the fight against Nazism rest in Serbian soil. We highly appreciate the respect and thoughtfulness with which the authorities and citizens of Serbia preserve their memory," the message states.
According to a release from the press service of the Serbian president, Putin noted that for centuries Russians and Serbs have stood side by side in the fight against common enemies, overcoming difficulties and challenges together.
"It is important that the good traditions of brotherly friendship, bequeathed to us by our ancestors, continue to serve today as a reliable basis for the development of strategic partnership relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Serbia. I sincerely wish you health and success, and all your compatriots - well-being and prosperity," Putin wrote in the message to Vučić.
Today marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade from fascist occupation in 1944 by troops of the Soviet Army and the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia with a solemn ceremony and laying of wreaths in the Park of the Liberators.