BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) 鈥� on Friday arrived for his first official visit to , one of the few European countries that have maintained friendly relations with despite its invasion of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy confirmed the arrival on Friday on his official Telegram channel. The office of had previously announced the visit late Thursday.
鈥淚mportant talks are scheduled for today and tomorrow,” Zelenskyy said. He added that he will meet with Vucic and Serbia’s Prime Minister Djuro Macut.
鈥淲e will discuss expanding economic ties between our countries, relations with the European Union, and other areas where we can find practical opportunities that benefit our peoples, as well as security issues,” Zelenskyy said.
The visit comes as Vucic tries to balance Serbia鈥檚 traditional ties with Moscow against pressure to align its foreign policy with the European Union. Vucic has refused to join international sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, citing historic ties between the two Slavic nations.
Serbia is in the process of joining the EU, but that has been stalled partly because of Belgrade’s policies toward Moscow.
Serbia relies almost entirely on Russia for its energy supplies. Although Belgrade has refused to sanction Russia, it has provided aid to Ukraine and Vucic has recently stepped up contacts with Kyiv, in an apparent bid to boost his image in the West.
Russia last year accused Serbia of to Ukraine through NATO member states, describing the move as a 鈥渟tab in the back.鈥� Serbia also has promised to help rebuild Ukraine after the war.
Ahead of the visit, Vucic said he and Zelenskyy will discuss cooperation in various fields and their countries’ paths toward EU membership. Vucic said Serbia on Russia sanctions.
鈥淎s far as sanctions are concerned, let me tell you directly: Serbia has established its policy,鈥� Vucic said on Friday. He added that Serbia’s stand 鈥渉as not changed and this will remain so for the time being.鈥�
Zelenskyy said in his post that “Ukraine is always ready to work constructively, on a mutually beneficial basis and with mutual respect.鈥�
Russia has faced international condemnation and sanctions since it launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Djordje Vlajic, a senior editor at the independent Fonet news agency in Belgrade, believes that both Vucic and Zelensky aim to make political gains from the Belgrade visit.
Zelenskyy 鈥渋s sending a message to Russia that he is taking over its key allies in the Balkans,鈥� Vlajic said. Vucic, on his part, 鈥渨ants to keep the link alive with the EU and send a signal to Brussels that he shares their (EU) position about the war,鈥� he added.
Serbia has been told it could lose access to EU funds and cannot move ahead with its EU membership bid because of its Moscow ties and general democratic backsliding under Vucic, who has faced a year of following a train station disaster in November 2024 that killed 16 people.
Vucic and Zelenskyy have met on several occasions since the start of the Russian invasion. Vucic traveled to Ukraine twice to attend summits on strengthening European support for Kyiv鈥檚 fight against Russian aggression, but each time he refused to sign a joint declaration calling for tougher sanctions against Moscow.
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AP Writer Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade and AP 小萝莉影视 Director for Ukraine Susie Blann contributed from London.
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