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Kremlin assures that nothing will be able to cast shadow on Serbian leader’s Russia visit

Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev earlier uploaded a video to YouTube allegedly featuring an unnamed officer of the Serbian army and a representative of the Russian military attache office in Serbia exchanging plastic bags in a parking lot

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic

© AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic

MOSCOW, November 22. /TASS/. The Kremlin is looking forward to Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic’s visit to Russia and hopes that nothing can tarnish the Balkan leader’s trip.

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"We corroborate that preparations are underway for that trip. We are looking forward to that visit. We believe it’s extremely vital," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

Earlier reports said that Vucic would arrive in Russia on December 4.

"We are well aware of the fact that there are certain parties that would like to mar that visit in advance. We are certain that they won’t be able to do so, and that the trip will be meaningful, productive and will once again demonstrate the partnership feature of relations between Russia and Serbia," he stressed.

‘Espionage’ allegations

Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian investigative reporter earlier posted a video on YouTube featuring two people chatting with each other and exchanging plastic bags in a parking lot. He accompanied the recording with his comments, claiming that it showed an unnamed Serbian officer and a Russian intelligence officer who was allegedly trying to recruit the Serbian national.

Meanwhile, Relja Zeljski, chief of analytics at Serbia's Security Intelligence Agency confirmed the authenticity of the video saying that it has been determined that a Russian intelligence officer is seen in the video.

According to the Vecernje Novosti newspaper, the person featured in the video is a self-employed individual. It also reported that the video could have been recorded by employees of one of Romania’s intelligence services acting under the auspices of Washington. The newspaper cited a comment by a source in the Serbian intelligence services, who described the situation as "the West’s attempt to undermine Russian-Serbian relations."

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