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Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov took part in the talks.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Vulin, I am delighted to welcome you to Vladivostok and to Russia.

I hope that your business mission here will be both successful and useful, particularly in terms of carrying out a careful review and assessing cooperation opportunities with Russia’s Far East, a vast region that holds immense potential and promise.

We have so many guests from a wide range of countries here, representing companies of all kinds and from across the world, including Asia and Europe. I believe that in addition to taking part in informal debates and official events, you can also engage with your colleagues from other countries. This is what makes events of this kind so valuable, among other things.

As for our bilateral relations, it is widely known what they represent. I am referring to the deep-rooted relations, their historical roots and the spiritual affinity between the people of Russia, the Russian nation and the Serbian nation.

Unfortunately, in terms of our trade and economic ties, trade has been declining, albeit slightly. I am aware that you and your cabinet are working on these matters. Perhaps it is time to hold an intergovernmental commission meeting in order to review the obstacles we face in this regard and remove them. Moreover, we have so many interesting avenues for cooperation in manufacturing, transport and industrial cooperation.

As you know, Russia plays a crucial role in supplying Serbia with energy resources, doing so efficiently and at a high level, always in a timely manner and on favourable terms for Serbia. This is something we will also discuss. There are specific issues we must address in this regard. For example, I am referring to the fact that our gas supply deals are set to expire in March 2025.

Of course, we are looking forward to hearing your assessment of what has been happening in your region from a security perspective and in terms of fulfilling the existing international agreements, particularly the Dayton Agreement. It would be very interesting and useful to hear your perspective and assessments on all these matters.

Welcome.

Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia Aleksandar Vulin (retranslated): Mr President,

It is a great honour and privilege for me to have a conversation with you today, and I can assure you that it is a great source of inspiration for all the people of Serbia. After all, we, the Serbs, are always better off whenever Russia is there for Serbia and cares about what Serbia is doing.

Serbia would not exist, had Russia failed to persevere throughout all these centuries. Not only do our nations have a shared past but they are also building their future together. I would like to take this opportunity, which is a great honour for me, to convey to you the heartfelt and fraternal greetings on behalf of President Aleksandar Vucic. He wishes you to stay strong and healthy for many years to come, and to serve as the leader of the Russian land for the wellbeing of the people of Russia.

As you know, Serbia is more than just a strategic partner for Russia. Serbia is also Russia’s ally. It is for this reason that we face so much pressure from the West. However, under Aleksandar Vucic’s leadership, Serbia would never join NATO, nor would it impose sanctions on the Russian Federation. It would not allow anyone to use its territory for any anti-Russian undertakings. Serbia has not taken part and will never contribute to the anti-Russia hysteria.

We respect and appreciate Russia. The forum I am attending demonstrates that attempts to isolate Russia bring nothing but harm. You cannot isolate Russia. Serbia would never participate in any initiative of this kind. You know that our region is facing quite a challenging situation, at least as far as Serbia is concerned. Pristina has been taking unilateral steps to reshape the situation on the ground, subvert Resolution 1244 and carry out ethnic cleansing in Kosovo and Metohija. Pristina disregards its own decision and the fact that it undertook with its own signature to create a Community of Serb Municipalities and carry out the Brussels Agreement.

Republika Srpska has also been a matter of concern for us. There is a lot of pressure now to diminish it and alter the Dayton Agreement. This cannot be done. If you want peace, if you want stability, it is President Aleksandar Vucic who guarantees peace. In fact, he is the utmost champion and guarantor of peace and stability in our region. I am very grateful for giving me the opportunity to convey this message to you.

I would like to extend my gratitude for your personal contribution to our relations and the way you have been seeking to preserve the truth. You have been there for us and helped us counter attempts to adopt a resolution on the alleged Srebrenica genocide. You resonated with our cause and supported us in important ways. It happened back in 2015 when the UK put forward this resolution at the Security Council. We will never forget your personal contribution to our struggle for truth about the Serb nation. We would like to express our immense gratitude to you and the Russian people for helping preserve our territorial integrity and sovereignty on the Kosovo and Metohija issues.

We do know that whenever Russia’s voice is heard, Serbia can also make its voice heard. And whenever someone tries to silence Russia, Serbia loses its voice, too. Make no mistake, the people of Serbia under President Vucic’s leadership would never allow our fraternal relations and our strategic partnership to be undermined.

Vladimir Putin: Please, send my best wishes to President Vucic. We are looking forward to seeing him at the events which will be held as part of the BRICS leaders’ meeting in Kazan in the BRICS Outreach format. We have sent him the invitation. I hope that the President accepts it.

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