Vulin: Chinese support for Serbia's integrity appreciated exceptionally highly

ST PETERSBURG - Serbian Deputy PM Aleksandar Vulin met with Chinese FM Wang Yi in St Petersburg on Wednesday, noting that Belgrade appreciated exceptionally highly China's support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia and Beijing's principled position of not recognising the false state of so-called Kosovo.

Conveying to Wang Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's friendly greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Vulin noted that Serbia supported the integrity of China and the One China policy, the Serbian government said in a statement.

Vulin said Serbia was grateful to Xi and China for the Chinese vote against a UNGA resolution on Srebrenica.

He informed Wang of the current situation in Kosovo-Metohija, which, due to unilateral and self-willed moves by the so-called Pristina authorities - which want to ethnically cleanse the Serbian province of Serbs - as well as inaction by the international community, has resulted in complete disenfranchisement of Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija and is threatening to lead to conflict, the statement said.

Wang noted that China shared Serbia's concern over Pristina's unlawful actions against Kosovo-Metohija Serbs, reiterating that China believed Serbia had the right to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and added that Serbia would always have China's support for that.

He said China had identified attempts by foreign powers that were not friendly to Serbia to interfere in Serbia's internal affairs with the aim of toppling a legitimately elected government, the statement also said.

Vulin is in St Petersburg for a meeting of senior security officials of BRICS member states and partner countries.