Vucic receives Russian ambassador to Belgrade

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko on Wednesday.

The meeting was held at the General Secretariat of the President of the Republic of Serbia.

Botsan-Kharchenko presented to Vucic a congratulatory card from Russian President Vladimir Putin on occasion of February 15, Serbia's Statehood Day.

"Please receive my hearttelt congratulations on occasion of the national holiday - Statehood Day of Serbia. The relationship between our countries is based on centuries-long traditions of friendship and cultural and spiritual closeness. I am confident we will continue to strengthen the Russian-Serbian strategic partnership in a versatile way and develop constructive cooperation in various fields. Without a doubt, that suits the fundamental interests of our brotherly peoples. I sincerely wish good health and success to you and happiness and prosperity to all citizens of Serbia," Putin wrote in the card.

"I expressed gratitude for the congratulations and especially highlighted the exceptional symbolism of Sretenje (The Meeting of the Lord) as a holiday during which our history and statehood, our freedom-loving spirit and our love of our fatherland and the highest values for which we have fought for centuries meet," Vucic wrote in an Instagram post after the meeting.