Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic makes first-ever visit to Ukraine
In a statement, Vucic's office said he would travel to Ukraine for one day to take part in the Ukraine-Southeastern Europe Summit in the Black Sea port of Odesa, which this week faced a major Russian drone and missile attack.
Senior politicians from 12 Southeastern European nations were expected to take part in the summit.
Serbia wants to join the European Union, but Russia, a traditional Slavic and Orthodox Christian ally, remains its biggest gas supplier, and the country's sole oil refinery is majority-owned by Gazprom (GAZP.MM), opens new tab and Gazprom Neft (SIBN.MM), opens new tab.
Although Belgrade has refused to join Western sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, it has condemned Moscow's policies in the United Nations and expressed support for Ukraine's territorial integrity.
Vucic has also previously met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at least three times.
Belgrade recognises Ukraine in its entirety, including territories seized by Russia since 2014, while Kyiv refused to recognise the 2008 independence of Kosovo, Serbia's predominantly Albanian former southern province.
In late May, the SVR, the Russian foreign intelligence service, accused Belgrade of "a stab in the back", alleging Serbia's defence manufacturers were selling ammunition and weapons to Ukraine via intermediaries.
The only Serbian president to visit Ukraine since the Balkan country became independent in 2006 was Boris Tadic in 2011. Ukraine's previous president, Petro Poroshenko, visited Serbia in 2018.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Russia says talks on Ukraine's security without Moscow are a 'road to nowhere'
MOSCOW, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday attempts to resolve security issues relating to Ukraine without Moscow's participation were a "road to nowhere", sounding a warning to the West as it scrambles to work out guarantees for Kyiv's future protection. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov particularly criticised the role of European leaders who met U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House on Monday to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine that could help to end the three-and-a-half-year-oldwar. Lavrov said Russia was in favour of "truly reliable" guarantees for Ukraine and suggested these could be modelled on a draft accord that was discussed between the warring parties in Istanbul in 2022, in the early weeks of the war. At the time, Kyiv rejected that proposal on the grounds that Moscow would have held effective veto power over any military response to come to its aid. "We cannot agree with the fact that now it is proposed to resolve questions of security, collective security, without the Russian Federation. This will not work," Lavrov told a joint news conference after meeting the foreign minister of Jordan. "I am sure that in the West and above all in the United States they understand perfectly well that seriously discussing security issues without the Russian Federation is a utopia, it's a road to nowhere." Lavrov's comments highlighted Moscow's demand for Western governments to directly engage with it on questions of security concerning Ukraine and Europe, something it says they have so far refused to do. Moscow this week also restated its categorical rejection of "any scenarios involving the deployment of NATO troops in Ukraine". Lavrov accused the European leaders who met Trump and Zelenskiy of carrying out "a fairly aggressive escalation of the situation, rather clumsy and, in general, unethical attempts to change the position of the Trump administration and the president of the United States personally... We did not hear any constructive ideas from the Europeans there". Trump said on Monday the United States would help guarantee Ukraine's security in any deal to end Russia's war there. He subsequently said he had ruled out putting U.S. troops on the ground in Ukraine, but the U.S. might provide air support as part of a deal to end the hostilities. Lavrov said the proposals discussed between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul in 2022 were a "very good example" of a possible security blueprint, noting that they would also have required Ukraine to become a neutral state and give up its ambition to join NATO. Under the draft discussed then, Ukraine would have received security guarantees from a group of countries including the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - China, Russia, the United States, Britain and France. A partially agreed draft said the guarantor states - including Russia - would respect and observe Ukraine's independence and sovereignty and refrain from the threat or use of force against it. Ukraine wanted the guarantors, if it came under attack, to provide assistance that could include "closing airspace over Ukraine, providing necessary weapons, using armed force in order to restore and subsequently maintain the security of Ukraine as a permanently neutral state". But Russia insisted any decision must be agreed by all guarantor st ates - meaning Moscow would have a veto.
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
Ukraine's Zelenskiy says Russia struck gas distribution station in Odesa region
KYIV, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Russia struck a gas distribution station in the southern Ukraine region of Odesa on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, adding this showed the need to put economic pressure on Russia amid current U.S. efforts to end the war. "All of these are demonstrative strikes that only confirm the need to put pressure on Moscow, the need to impose new sanctions and tariffs until diplomacy is fully effective," Zelenskiy wrote on X. Zelenskiy did not specify how important the gas station is. Local authorities did not report any problems with gas supplies in the region. Ukraine uses gas not only for industrial needs, but also for heating homes and cooking. The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed the attack on what it said was port infrastructure "used to supply fuel to Ukrainian forces". In recent weeks, Russian forces have intensified attacks on gas and energy infrastructure, attacking a gas interconnector with Romania and fuel depots in several regions in early August. Ukraine has called on Baku to respond to Russian attacks on assets of Azerbaijani state-owned company SOCAR in the Odesa region. Ukrainian authorities say that Russia is trying to disrupt Ukraine's preparations for the winter heating season with its attacks. Ukraine has faced a serious gas shortage since a series of devastating Russian missile strikes this year, which significantly reduced domestic production. Ukrainian forces have also stepped up attacks on Russia's energy infrastructure, a key conduit for generating money for Kremlin's war efforts. Oil is once again flowing to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline, officials from both countries said late on Tuesday, after a Ukrainian drone strike on an oil pumping station in Russia's Tambov region halted supplies.
Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Telegraph
How Finland's super-fit president put his nation at heart of Ukraine peace talks
Donald Trump could not find the president of Finland among the gathered European leaders at his White House summit on Ukraine. 'I'm right here,' a smiling Alexander Stubb said from his seat at the top table opposite the US president and next to Volodymyr Zelensky. 'Oh, you look better than I've ever seen you look,' Mr Trump shot back instantly to his counterpart. There were more compliments to come for the 'young, powerful man' leading Finland, which has emerged as a crucial player in the Ukraine peace negotiations despite being a nation of only 5.6 million people. 'Some of the international media might wonder why is the president of Finland here?' Mr Stubb said as he sat with the leaders of the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the European Commission, Nato, Ukraine and the US. 'I think the reason is probably that we might come from a small country, but we have a long border with Russia, over 800 miles,' he told reporters. 'And we, of course, have our own historical experience with Russia from World War Two.' Finland's two wars against the Soviet Union ended in the loss of about 10 per cent of its territory and in limits on its sovereignty to enforce its neutrality. The term 'Finlandisation' was coined to describe how it was forced to adopt a position of neutrality by its larger, belligerent neighbour. Only in 1995, after the fall of the Soviet Union, could Finland join the European Union. It joined Nato only in April 2023, as a direct response to Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine. The experience could find echoes in the present if Kyiv bows to pressure from Mr Trump to sacrifice some of its land to establish peace with Russia, which is intent on 'Finlandising' Ukraine. Mr Stubb said peace was closer now than ever, thanks to Mr Trump. 'If I look at the silver lining of where we stand right now, we found a solution in 1944, and I'm sure that we'll be able to find a solution in 2025 to end Russia's war of aggression and find – and get – a lasting and just peace,' he said. Mr Stubb's father and grandfather were born in Karelia, territory that Finland was forced to cede and remains part of Russia. After the White House meeting, Mr Stubb stressed that – unlike Finland after the war – Ukraine was not alone and would not be forced to give up territory. Mr Stubb, a bespectacled 57-year-old conservative with a taste for Ironman triathlons, is the real reason that Finland finds itself among the power players. The former prime minister, who has a British wife and a doctorate from the London School of Economics, was elected president in February 2024. It was the first vote held since Finland joined Nato. Had it been up to Mr Stubb, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, his country would have entered the alliance in 1995. As president, he is the head of state, supreme commander of the Finnish Defence Forces, and leads the nation's foreign policy. Before turning to politics, however, his dream had been to become a professional golfer. He secured a golf scholarship at Furman University in South Carolina. Mr Stubb's mean golf game proved to be his secret weapon in his mission to charm Mr Trump. He played with the US president on an unofficial trip to Mar-a-Lago in March this year, only a month after Mr Trump's infamous Oval Office bust-up with Mr Zelensky. Mr Trump was won over. 'He is a very good player, and we won the men's member-guest golf tournament at Trump International Golf Club,' the president said on his Truth Social account. Mr Stubb told The Wall Street Journal last week: 'It's very important to be able to play golf with the president. It's quite rare that a president from a small country gets to spend some seven hours in the presence of a president of a big country.' He added: 'Golf was quite a useful tool there. I have to admit.' Since their round of golf, the US president has been getting tougher on Putin and softer on Mr Zelensky. Meanwhile, Mr Stubb has forged a role as a go-between between Mr Trump, European leaders and Mr Zelensky. At the funeral of Pope Francis in April, a key moment in the detente between Mr Zelensky and Mr Trump, Mr Stubb was seated between the president and Melania Trump. He is said to be in regular contact with the US president, helped in part by his early morning starts to do triathlon training, which means he can swap texts at a reasonable hour on American time. 'I can communicate what Europeans think, or what Zelensky thinks to Trump, and then I can communicate what Trump thinks to my European colleagues,' he said. Helsinki snagged an invite to the high-profile summit, while other much bigger EU countries missed out. Ukraine requested that Finland be one of the countries invited to the talks in Washington, with the White House then inviting Mr Stubb, a source familiar told The Telegraph. There was no place for Poland, another neighbour of Russia and Ukraine that is spending big on defence. Mr Trump had reportedly infuriated Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister, by asking for his bitter rival – Karol Nawrocki, Warsaw's Maga-allied president – to attend a teleconference on Ukraine for European leaders last week. Spain, which is firmly at odds with the US over Mr Trump's demands for higher defence spending, was also not invited. Stubb acclaimed for diplomatic coup The Finnish press has delighted in celebrating Mr Stubb's diplomatic coup. 'Stubb has clearly succeeded on a personal level in speaking with Trump in a way that has appealed to Trump and created a confidential connection that appears to be lasting and producing results,' former ambassador Hannu Himanen told public broadcaster Yle. Ed Arnold, a senior research fellow on European security at Royal United Services Institute, told The Telegraph that Finland's inclusion was likely based more on Mr Stubb's assertiveness than a country-wide effort. There are other reasons why Finland finds itself in such an influential position, as Mr Stubb works to keep what he calls 'Team Europe' and the US united over Ukraine. It boasts a fearsome military forged over decades living in Russia's shadow, and has long been a go-between between Russia and the US. Its 800-mile border with Russia is a headache for Putin because it is now a Nato border. Sources have told Finnish media that Helsinki is also ready to play its part in protecting a final peace deal in Ukraine. While that could involve Finnish troops, it is more likely to involve logistics and training. Nikolai Sokov, a former Soviet and Russian arms-control negotiator, told The Telegraph that Finland's emergence as a major player in Europe centres around its admission to Nato. He said, 'Russia will need to contend with a much longer border with Nato and especially with the extreme vulnerability of the Kola Peninsula. 'The Baltic Sea will remain a major tension point with high risk of conflict, like West Berlin in the '50s, early '60s.' Mr Arnold added Finland certainly feels more confident projecting itself on the world stage since joining Nato. 'The process of joining Nato was complex and required a lot of focus. It has had to adapt to suddenly being in this alliance, being a really key player already, instantly becoming a front-line state that shares a border with Russia,' he said. 'It doesn't suit their interests to be in the middle of the pack.' Mr Arnold, however, also noted that Mr Trump's style of diplomacy hinges on personal relationships, meaning Europe has been forced to adapt its approach to US relations. 'Whoever gets on with Trump – get them in a room with him to manage him,' he added. In the meantime, Finland's president will use all of his influence to turn Mr Trump's ire away from Mr Zelensky and towards Putin.
