Serbia’s Moscow-friendly President Aleksandar Vucic travelled to Ukraine’s Odessa city for a summit on Wednesday, in what marks his first visit to the country during his 12 years in power.
Vuvic is visiting Ukraine for a one-day visit to attend the Ukraine-Souheastern Europe Summit in southern port city of Odessa, according to the president’s statement. The summit is expected to be attended by senior officials of 12 Southeastern European countries. Vuvic’s visit to Odessa is indicative of Serbia’s realignment with the EU regarding Russia’s war in Ukraine. Despite positioning itself as a neutral in Russia-Ukraine war, Vuvic’s participation in the Victory Parade in Moscow in May drew criticism and warning from the European Union over Servia’s accession to join the 27-member bloc. Vuvic’s surprise attendance in the Summit in Odessa this week is likely to facilitate Serbia’s EU integration bid.
Being one of Moscow’s longest-standing European allies and relying on Russia for its gas and oil supplies, Serbia has refused to join the Western sanctions against Kremlin but has expressed support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity and condemned Moscow’s war of invasion in the United Nations
Last month, the Russian foreign intelligence service, known as SVR, accused Belgrade of exporting arms to Ukraine, condemning it as a "stab in the back" from Serbia.
The Service issued a statement claiming that "Serbian defence enterprises, contrary to the ‘neutrality’ declared by official Belgrade, continue to supply ammunition to Kyiv” through NATO intermediaries, "primarily the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria." Vucić denied the accusations, saying that although a contract with the Czech Republic exists, it does not authrorize export of Serbian-made materiel to a third country.
