Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic had his first telephone conversation with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin in 2.5 years and thanked him for ensuring that Russia supplies the Republic of Serbia with enough gas this winter.
Radio Liberty writes about this.
Vucic spoke with Putin for the first time in 2.5 years
— I expressed hope, as I did two and a half years ago, that Serbia will not impose sanctions against the Russian Federation, — Vucic later wrote on his Instagram profile.
As Radio Liberty notes, Serbia met Russia's invasion of Ukraine completely dependent on gas from Russia and, despite calls from the EU, where the country is a candidate for membership, refuses to impose sanctions against Moscow, while government officials in Belgrade maintain ties with the Kremlin.
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Aleksandar Vucic added that he had not spoken to Putin for “almost two and a half years” and that on Sunday they had a “good, open, long and meaningful conversation”.
In turn, the Kremlin press service reported that Putin and Vucic “once again confirmed their commitment to further strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation throughout the world” and agreed “to continue to maintain personal contacts”.
In their conversation with Putin, Vucic discussed bilateral, economic and political issues. At the same time, the Kremlin stated that the conversation expressed mutual satisfaction with the current state of bilateral ties, which are based on spiritual, cultural and historical kinship, as well as unanimity in assessing the past and present.
The Kremlin also noted that the conversation was also focused on the situation around Ukraine, and added that Putin gave the Serbian president his assessment of the progress of the special military operation, which is a Russian neologism for aggression against Ukraine.
It is noted that the reason for the conversation was the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade from the Nazis invaders.
