BELGRADE, July 14. /TASS/. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he hopes Belgrade can reach an understanding with the United States to avoid tariffs related to the country's import of Russian gas.

"Unfortunately, all the other developments making the news bode nothing good for anyone in the world, especially not for our country. I mean, in particular, the recently announced tariffs for countries importing Russian gas and oil. We do not import oil, but we do import Russian gas. That is why I hope the launch of the strategic dialogue with the United States this Friday will give us an opportunity to discuss all these issues, try to resolve them in a different way and secure a certain degree of understanding from the American side toward Serbia. The continuing conflict in the Strait of Hormuz and the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine are very bad news," Vucic told Serbian journalists in Paris.

Earlier, CNN reported that US President Donald Trump intends to support congressional approval of a bill tightening sanctions against Russia. According to the broadcaster, if passed by Congress, the legislation would pave the way for the Trump administration to impose tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil. The bill was introduced in early April by a bipartisan group of US senators. It provides, among other measures, for secondary sanctions against Russia's trading partners, including 500% tariffs on US imports from countries that purchase Russian oil, gas, uranium and other goods.