BELGRADE, February 8. /TASS/. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic discussed the situation in the east of Europe with Chairman of the International Committee of Russia’s State Duma, or lower parliament house, Leonid Slutsky, the press service of the Serbian president said on Tuesday.
"President Vucic and the representative of the Russian State Duma discussed developments in the east of Europe," it said.
The sides "expressed hope for the continuation of active high-level contacts," and discussed economic cooperation between Serbia and Russia. President Vucic thanked Russia "for support for Serbia’s territorial integrity," it said.
The Serbian president said earlier in the day that he hopes that Russia and the United States will find a peaceful resolution to the global crisis. "I believe that the Russians and the Ukrainians, I mean the Russians and the Americans will find a joint solution and a peaceful solution. And in this case, I will have no fears either for Serbia’s future or for the future of the continent," he said.
Recently, Western and Ukrainian media outlets have been echoing claims about a possible Russian aggression against Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier slammed such statements as "empty and groundless," claiming their goal is to whip up tensions. He stressed that Russia doesn’t pose a threat to anyone, but did not rule out possible provocations to justify the remarks in question and warned that attempts at using force to settle the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have the most severe consequences.