BELGRADE, May 6. /TASS/. Russian military experts have done everything to save Serbia from the coronavirus pandemic, Commander of the Russian task force in Serbia Major General Mikhail Chernyshev said, responding to the gratitude expressed by Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin and Belgrade Deputy Mayor Goran Vesic.

"We tried to do everything we could to defeat the coronavirus. Despite the difficult coronavirus situation in Russia, our assistance to Serbia is the assistance of a friend who does not think about whose problems are more important," the Serbian Defense Ministry’s press service quoted the general as saying.

Serbia’s coronavirus death toll currently stands at 200, as many as 9,677 people have been infected.

The Serbian defense minister, in turn, pointed out that "Russian troops have set an example of how a friend and a military serviceman should act." "They have shown great skills and demonstrated their commitment to what they do," Vulin added.

The Serbian authorities closed the country’s borders, declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew due to the coronavirus. They also cancelled parliamentary elections, cut train and long-distance bus services. Belgrade asked Moscow for assistance in combating the coronavirus outbreak in late March. On April 3-4, the Russian Aerospace Forces’ aircraft brought a group of military servicemen to Serbia, which particularly included infectious disease experts, and delivered special medical equipment. Russian medical teams have disinfected 156 facilities in 30 Serbian cities and towns and assisted in the treatment of over 780 coronavirus patients.