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Serbian president, Russian ambassador discuss ongoing unrest on streets of Belgrade

Aleksandar Vucic stressed that he would do everything to preserve the safety of citizens and Serbia

BELGRADE, December 25. /TASS/. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic informed Russian Ambassador Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko about the riots that broke out the day before in the Serbian capital during a meeting in Belgrade, Vucic said afterwards.

"I informed Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko about the riots last night in Belgrade and confirmed that we will do everything to preserve the safety of citizens and our Serbia," the Serbian leader wrote on his page on Instagram (banned in Russia due to its ownership by designated extremist Meta). "We also exchanged views on bilateral relations, the situation in the region and current geopolitical developments. I conveyed to the ambassador my wish that our two nations meet the upcoming holidays and the New Year in peace and well-being," Vucic added.

During the meeting, which lasted nearly an hour, Botsan-Kharchenko presented Vucic with a book by the late Anatoly Dobrynin (1919-2010), long-time Soviet ambassador to Washington (1962-1986), titled "In Confidence: Moscow's Ambassador to Six Cold War Presidents" in Russian, in which the Serbian leader is fluent.

Earlier, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said Moscow had warned Belgrade of potential unrest. She specifically stated that she considered it necessary to "thank the people from the Russian [intelligence] services who had all of this data at their disposal and have shared this information" with their Serbian counterparts.

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