Vucic receives Botsan-Kharchenko

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic met with Russian Ambassador to Serbia Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko on Tuesday to discuss topics including potential challenges in 2025, the situation in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija and Serbia's majority Russian-owned oil company NIS.

In an Instagram post, Vucic wrote the meeting with Botsan-Kharchenko had been good and that they had discussed important topics in the area of Serbia-Russia bilateral relations and cooperation, exchanging views on global developments and potential new challenges in 2025.

"The ambassador presented to me a New Year and Christmas greeting card from President (Vladimir) Putin, and I responded with good wishes for the well-being and prosperity of the citizens of the Russian Federation and wished that the upcoming year may bring an end to all conflicts and long-awaited peace to all," Vucic wrote in the post.

He said NIS and potential difficulties Serbia could face in case of sanctions against the company was one of the focal points of the discussion.

He informed the ambassador in greater detail of the situation in Kosovo-Metohija and noted that open aspirations by the Pristina regime to ethnically cleanse Kosovo-Metohija of the Serb population struck even greater fear and uncertainty among Serbs in the province.

"I reiterated that Serbia continues to fight for preservation of peace and stability in the region, but I also noted the need for a final resolution of these long-standing challenges," Vucic added.