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Serbia looks forward to Putin's visit before year’s end — Serbian Foreign Minister

The possibility of the Russian President's visit to Serbia has been discussed since last year

BELGRADE, June 18. /TASS/. The Serbian authorities hope that Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit their country before the end of this year, Serbian Foreign Minister Nikola Selakovic said on Friday. He was speaking at a joint press conference with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko following the results of bilateral talks.

"We expressed hope that by the end of this year, we will have the opportunity to receive Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as [Russian Foreign Minister] Sergei Lavrov in Belgrade, Serbia, which will be a great honor for us," Selakovic said.

The Serbian Foreign Minister thanked Russia for its assistance during the pandemic and for launching the production of the Sputnik V vaccine in Serbia. They also discussed the cooperation of the ministries for educational purposes, cooperation at the regional and international levels, Selakovic said.

In turn, Alexander Grushko expressed hope for a gradual restoration of cooperation as the pandemic retreats. He confirmed the possibility of the Russian President’s visit to Belgrade:

"We discussed the factors of our interaction, having in mind the possibility of visits that have not yet been approved, but we very much hope that they will take place, in particular the possible visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin and ministers to Serbia. This will make a difference to the strategic nature of our relationship," Grushko said.

Grushko noted that during the talks, special attention was paid to the state of affairs in the economic department of cooperation between Russia and Serbia.

The possibility of the Russian President's visit to Serbia has been discussed since last year. Earlier it was planned that Vladimir Putin would visit that country in October 2020 and take part in the opening ceremony of the Church of St. Sava. However, due to the difficult epidemic situation, the visit was canceled. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that the timing of Putin's visit to the republic would be agreed very quickly, as soon as the epidemiological situation allows.

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Vladimir Putin Serbia

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