Zelenskyy visits Serbia, testing Belgrade's Russia-EU balancing act

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has begun his first official visit to Serbia for talks with Aleksandar Vucic on trade, EU ties and security. The meeting sharpens focus on Belgrade's effort to engage Kyiv while holding its line against sanctions on Russia.

In Short

• Belgrade and Kyiv plan talks on trade, security and practical cooperation
• Serbia still refuses Russia sanctions despite aid and warmer contacts with Ukraine
• Vucic says Serbia's sanctions policy remains unchanged for the foreseeable future

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Serbia on Friday for his first official visit to the country, with talks planned on economic ties, relations with the European Union and security. The visit comes at a time when Serbia is trying to balance its traditional links with Russia and pressure to bring its foreign policy closer to the EU.

Serbia is among the few European countries that have kept friendly relations with Russia despite Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Belgrade has refused to join international sanctions against Russia, but it has provided aid to Ukraine and recently increased contacts with Kyiv as its own EU membership process remains stalled in part over its policies towards Moscow.

Zelenskyy confirmed his arrival on his official Telegram channel after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic's office announced the visit late on Thursday. "Important talks are scheduled for today and tomorrow," Zelenskyy said. He added that he will meet Vucic and Serbian Prime Minister Djuro Macut.

"We will discuss expanding economic ties between our countries, relations with the European Union, and other areas where we can find practical opportunities that benefit our peoples, as well as security issues," Zelenskyy said. He also said that "Ukraine is always ready to work constructively, on a mutually beneficial basis and with mutual respect."

Before the visit, Vucic said he and Zelenskyy would discuss cooperation in various fields and their countries' paths towards EU membership. He also repeated that Serbia would not change its stand on sanctions against Russia. "As far as sanctions are concerned, let me tell you directly: Serbia has established its policy," Vucic said on Friday. He added that Serbia's stand "has not changed and this will remain so for the time being."

Serbia relies almost entirely on Russia for its energy supplies. Russia last year accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine through NATO member states and called it a "stab in the back". Serbia has also promised to help rebuild Ukraine after the war. Russia has faced international condemnation and sanctions since it launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Djordje Vlajic, a senior editor at the independent Fonet news agency in Belgrade, said both leaders could see political value in the visit. Zelenskyy "is sending a message to Russia that he is taking over its key allies in the Balkans," Vlajic said. Vucic, on his part, "wants to keep the link alive with the EU and send a signal to Brussels that he shares their (EU) position about the war," he added.

Serbia has been told it could lose access to EU funds and cannot move ahead with its EU membership bid because of its ties with Moscow and wider concerns about democratic backsliding under Vucic, who has faced a year of youth-led protests after a train station disaster in November 2024 that killed 16 people. Vucic and Zelenskyy have met several times since the Russian invasion began, and Vucic travelled to Ukraine twice for summits aimed at strengthening European support for Kyiv, though he refused each time to sign a joint declaration calling for tougher sanctions on Moscow.

Zelenskyy's first official visit to Serbia has put the focus on talks over trade, EU ties and security, while underlining Belgrade's effort to keep up contacts with Kyiv without changing its position on sanctions against Russia.

With PTI Inputs

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