Serbian president prepared to defend Moscow visit in upcoming talks with EU’s foreign policy chief

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić assured that he would not avoid questions regarding his May 9 visit to Moscow during his upcoming talks with the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, in Belgrade.

Speaking to the Serbian Pink TV, the president clarified that Kallas was the only one who publicly condemned his trip to Moscow in Tirana (at a European Political Community summit).

"I had an open discussion with her. I explained Serbia's position in a sincere, clear and unambiguous manner," he stated, vowing to "not hide under the table, to be entirely honest, or shun" this matter should the issue come up during the EU diplomat's upcoming visit to Serbia, which, according Vučić, will "certainly" be the case.

Kallas has embarked on a two-day trip to the Western Balkans on May 21, during which she will visit Serbia, Kosovo and North Macedonia.  Upon his arrival in Moscow on May 7, the Serbian president said that he understood “criticism from Brussels will follow, and I expect the EU to punish me, not Serbia… I was elected by the Serbian people… I was not elected in Riga, Tallinn, Vilnius, or anywhere else”, he noted. Commenting on Vučić’s visit to Moscow for the May 9 parade, Kallas previously stated that it did not go unnoticed by the European Union member states.

“The Serbian army did not participate in the parade, and that is a positive side. That would have been really another level. But, of course, it remains on the conscience of these people who go hand in hand with Putin, who is waging a war now, the biggest war in Europe since World War II”, Kallas said. Asked about the EU’s reaction to such a move by the Serbian President, she underlined that the member states “have a lot of questions”, such as “who is your friend that you are dealing with”. 

By Nazrin Sadigova