The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Belgrade yesterday. Zelenskyy travelled to Serbia with his team, and the two delegations discussed several issues.
During the meeting, a memorandum of cooperation in the field of animal health and food safety was signed, while the two presidents said after their talks that there was room for further improvement of relations between the two countries. Vučić underlined Serbia’s support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and its European path, while Zelenskyy thanked Serbia for its support and expressed a desire for both countries to accelerate their European path.
A meeting between the two countries' delegations began in Belgrade following the one-on-one meeting between the Presidents of Serbia and Ukraine. Members of the Serbian and Ukrainian delegations took part in the talks, which focused on bilateral cooperation and opportunities for its further development.
The meeting was followed by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Serbia and the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection.
The memorandum provides for cooperation in the fields of animal health and food safety, and was signed by the relevant ministers of the two countries.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated afterwards that it was a great honour for him to host the Ukrainian president, describing the meeting as an important one, particularly given that, as he noted, it was the first visit by a Ukrainian president to Serbia in eight years.
Vučić stressed that one of the key topics of the talks was the position of the two countries regarding territorial integrity and the Charter of the United Nations.
"Serbia, and I as its president, have stressed that we support the UN Charter and UN resolutions, which means the territorial integrity of all UN member states, including the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and we are very grateful to Ukraine for supporting the territorial integrity of Serbia," Vučić said.
He added that Serbia would continue to pursue, as he put it, a principled policy on this issue.
"There is no 'but'," the Serbian president stressed.
European Path
Another topic discussed was the European path of Serbia and Ukraine. Vučić said that Ukraine would have Serbia’s full support on its path towards the European Union, stressing that Belgrade would do nothing aimed at slowing down or halting Ukraine’s European integration.
"We want Ukraine to open all the clusters as soon as possible; that is the wish of the Ukrainian people and its leadership. We will have no issues with that in the future. On the contrary, whatever we can do, we will do," Vučić said.
Speaking about economic cooperation, Vučić noted that trade between Serbia and Ukraine had increased significantly, but that there was room for further growth. He singled out iron as one of the most important products Serbia imports from Ukraine.
Infrastructure projects
The two presidents also discussed infrastructure projects, as well as the possibility of Ukrainian companies becoming involved in projects in Serbia. Vučić particularly highlighted Ukraine’s experience in railway infrastructure, stating that he was impressed by its railway network during his recent visit to Kyiv.
Vučić also said that Serbia could further increase its humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and would continue to provide aid in accordance with its capabilities.
"I would like to say that I am grateful to the Ukrainian president for the support he has given us on our European path. I would like to tell our citizens that you have never heard a single bad word about Serbia from Volodymyr Zelenskyy. And I am very grateful for that," Vučić said.
Speaking about the future of relations between the two countries, Vučić expressed hope that cooperation between Serbia and Ukraine would be further strengthened after the end of the war, including the possibility of jointly marketing certain products in third-country markets.
"I believe that important talks still lie ahead of us in the future. We had a lengthy conversation last night, and today we had a very good discussion, and I am grateful to President Zelenskyy. I hope we were good hosts," Vučić said.
Zelenskyy: Strengthening energy cooperation with partners would be of great importance
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy then took the floor, thanking Serbia for its hospitality and speaking about the latest Russian attack on Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said that Ukraine had been targeted by a major attack involving ballistic missiles and drones the previous night, stating that 13 people had been killed and 77 injured between 9 p.m. the previous evening and 9 a.m. the following morning. According to him, 12 regions were attacked.
"It is a terrible tragedy, Russia’s aggression against independent Ukraine," Zelenskyy said.
He stressed that many of the attacks were targeting energy infrastructure that is crucial to the daily lives of citizens.
"We do not have a single power plant that has not been attacked," the Ukrainian president said, adding that not a single thermal power plant has remained completely intact.
Zelenskyy emphasized the importance of the support Ukraine receives from other countries, particularly in the energy sector. He said that he had discussed the challenges that Ukraine is facing with Vučić, and assessed that strengthening of energy cooperation with partners would be of great importance.
The two presidents also discussed a free trade agreement. Zelenskyy said that work towards reaching such an agreement should continue and assessed that the negotiations were progressing well.
He also spoke about European integration, saying that he would like to see Serbia’s path towards the European Union accelerated.
"I want to see Serbia’s path to the EU accelerated," Zelenskyy said, adding that candidate countries should receive a clear signal from the European Union that they are needed.
The Ukrainian president stressed that a dignified peace was important for his country and called for every opportunity to be used to find a diplomatic solution to the war.
"It is important that people everywhere in the world know that we want a dignified peace and that every opportunity should be used — in Washington, Beijing, Europe, the Middle East, and in all countries that can influence these processes," Zelenskyy said.
"We will never forget your kindness"
At the end of his address, he thanked the citizens of Serbia who, as he put it, had welcomed the Ukrainian people.
"We will never forget your kindness," Zelenskyy said, wishing Serbia peace and concluding his address with the words, "Glory to Ukraine."
Responding to a question from a Ukrainian journalist as to whether he expected the war in Ukraine to end soon, Vučić said that, as a responsible person, he could not make serious assessments or predictions on the matter.
"We all want the war to end as soon as possible. If you ask me, a political veteran, I can tell you that I am not sure about that, and I am quite afraid that we will have another difficult winter. Mainly your people, but also everyone else around the world. I apologize for having to be honest," Vučić said.
In his response, he once again stressed the importance of the free trade agreement, stating that Serbia and Ukraine would continue working towards its conclusion.
Vučić also recalled Serbia’s earlier commitment to help a smaller city in Ukraine that had been particularly exposed to attacks during the war.
"Last time, we promised that we would take care of a small city in Ukraine that was heavily exposed to attacks during the war. And that is something we will do; we will invest a great deal in it," the Serbian president said.
(EUpravo zato)
