BELGRADE, June 16. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia highly appreciates Serbia’s position aimed to unite Europe instead of dividing it, said Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who arrived on a two-day visit in Serbia’s capital on Monday.

Lavrov told his Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic, who met him at the airport, he was very pleased to be in Belgrade.

“I am grateful to my friend Ivica Dacic for the invitation,” he said. “I hope we will be able to discuss all issues of our bilateral relations. We have a large number of strategic and economic projects, and projects in humanitarian sphere. We are convinced that they serve the interests of Russian and Serbian people.”

“International regional problems are also on the agenda as always,” Lavrov said. “These are the Balkans and the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe), over which Serbia will preside next year.”

“We certainly wish that there were no dividing lines in Europe and that all countries here, members of the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union, shared a common economic and humanitarian space,” he added.

 Current visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to Serbia indicates progress in the development of partner relations between the two countries, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Monday, as he met Russian counterpart at the airport.

“Sergey Lavrov is back here again three years after his latest visit. This is another step towards the development of political relations between our two fraternal nations,” Dacic said, adding that “Serbia and the Serbian people are very pleased to meet the minister.”

“Russia and Serbia have signed a strategic partnership declaration,” he said. “And we want to develop our relations in the spirit of partnership. We will negotiate all issues of our bilateral relations.”

Dacic said Lavrov would also meet Serbian President Tomislav Nicolic and Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic.