BELGRADE, January 12. /TASS/. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has offered his country as a potential venue for talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the next US president, Donald Trump, promising to guarantee their security.
"I see that some are offering their countries as a venue for a meeting between Putin and Trump. I would like to state it officially for the first time that Serbia is interested in hosting a meeting between the Russian and US presidents. Why? Not just because Serbia is not a formal member of any military blocs, like a number of other states that offer their hospitality. Serbia is equally distant from both blocs, NATO and the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Russia-led security bloc - TASS), being, as a matter of fact, a completely independent and self-reliant country, which is ready to guarantee security of both presidents," he told the Pink television channel.
"At the same time, this is a state where President Trump enjoys the biggest support in entire Europe. No other country can boast the same support for President Trump as Serbia. Not a single one. I am not speaking about the leaders, but about support from the nation in general. On the other hand, this is a state where President Putin is still very popular. That is why, I think this is the best place on Earth to suit both presidents," Vucic noted.
US incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told ABC News earlier in the day that phone talks between Trump and Putin could be organized within days or weeks.
Trump said on January 10 that preparations for his potential meeting with Putin were underway as it was necessary to put an end to the Ukrainian conflict. According to Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, the Russian leader is ready to meet with new US leader Donald Trump without any preconditions, but "there have been no specific details yet.".