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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is expected to pay a visit to Serbia next week amid debates over Belgrade’s refusal to join Western sanctions against Moscow over its aggression in Ukraine.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday that Minister Lavrov would visit Serbia on June 6th and 7th to meet with its president, Aleksandar Vucic, and other senior officials.
The announcement came a day after the Serbian president said that “the situation around Minister Lavrov’s visit is becoming more complicated in every sense… The issue is how he will come… and other issues”. But the Serbian president did not want to talk in detail about this issue.
Observers say Minister Lavrov could not travel by Russian plane as the skies of countries around Serbia are closed to flights from Russia. In this way, he would be able to travel by commercial airplane to Serbia, which is the only country that allows Belgrade-Moscow flights.
Analysts in Serbia say the Russian minister’s visit during this period would be detrimental to Belgrade, which is under Western pressure to join sanctions against Moscow.
Three days after the Russian minister’s announced visit, a visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz to Belgrade is planned. Observers in Serbia said Lavrov’s visit could lead to the cancellation of the German chancellor’s visit. Even the Serbian president, when asked about this possibility, said that “it would be very bad news”.
The announcement of Lavrov’s visit to Belgrade follows the agreement of Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic with Russian President Vladimir Putin on a new three-year contract for gas supplies from Russia. The Serbian president says he aims for his country’s membership in the European Union, but has worked for years to strengthen ties with Russia.
Serbia, which is completely dependent on Russian gas, has often reiterated that its support for Russia is important because of its opposition to Kosovo’s independence.
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