Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told his Serbian counterpart Marko Djuric that Moscow appreciates Belgrade’s sovereign foreign policy, the TASS news agency reported.

„It’s very important that our partners in Belgrade have not joined the West’s sanction campaign against Russia. They understand the root causes that, after years of warnings, compelled us to launch the special military operation. We value Serbia’s balanced and sovereign foreign policy, which is rooted in national interests,“ he told reporters after their meeting.
Lavrov said that Moscow and Belgrade will continue to work on a joint oil venture and will not allow the West to harm their interests’

„Today we are faced with a situation where those who are used to unfair competition are trying to entangle our joint Russian-Serbian company, the Serbian oil industry, with restrictive measures. This is the flagship of the Serbian economy. It is literally being forced to refuse cooperation with a Russian investor. In this regard, we have agreed with our Serbian friends to continue working together to prevent damaging our shared interests,“ Lavrov said.

The Serbian pro-regime Tanjug agency reported Djuric as expressing gratitude for Russia’s stand on Kosovo and its support for Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. „We hope that, going forward, tectonic changes in the international community will open up greater space for resolving this issue in line with international law and in a civilised manner,“ Djuric said.

He added that Serbia hoped its relations with the Russian Federation would reach their full potential.