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Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is visiting Ukraine on Wednesday, in what marks his first ever trip to the country.
During a one-day trip, Vučić is scheduled to take part in the Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Odesa, Serbia’s Presidential Office announced.
According to Euronews’ European political sources, the Serbian president’s participation in the summit signals Serbia’s realignment with the EU regarding Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Serbia has positioned itself as neutral when it comes to Russia’s war against Ukraine, but Vučić’s recent visit to Moscow for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Victory Day parade drew sharp criticism from Brussels regarding Serbia’s EU membership bid.
Brussels issued a stark warning, indicating that Vučić’s visit to Moscow would violate EU membership criteria and potentially hurt Serbia’s accession process to the 27-member bloc.
According to Euronews’ European political sources, Vučić’s participation in the summit in Odesa and its symbolism should lead to Brussels reopening and expediting Serbia’s EU enlargement chapters.
In this context, as a gesture towards Serbia, Ukraine did not invite Kosovo to the summit, the same sources told Euronews.
Russia accused Serbia of arming Ukraine
Just recently, Russia accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine, calling it a “stab in the back” from one of Moscow’s longest-standing European allies.
The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) issued a statement claiming that “Serbian defence enterprises, contrary to the ‘neutrality’ declared by official Belgrade, continue to supply ammunition to Kyiv.”
The statement alleged that the export of the Serbian arms to Ukraine was going through NATO intermediaries, “primarily the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria.”
“Recently, exotic options involving African states have also been used for this purpose,” SVR said.
Vučić denied the accusations, saying that although a contract with the Czech Republic exists, it does not permit exporting Serbian-made materiel to another country.
He also stated Moscow and Belgrade would create a “working group” to establish how Serbian-made weapons reached Ukraine.
The Ukraine-Southeast Europe Summit in Odesa will gather representatives from 12 southeastern European countries.
Among them is Romanian President Nicusor Dan, who is making his first trip to Ukraine since winning the May election.
Russia has regularly targeted the port city of Odesa in missile and drone attacks.**
On Tuesday, two people were killed after drone attacks hit residential buildings and medical facilities, including a maternity ward, officials said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later said 13 people had also been injured there.
