President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić met earlier today with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko and asked him to convey his gratitude to President Vladimir Putin for the congratulations he sent him on the Statehood Day.

President Vučić said Serbia and Russia have strong, friendly relations proven in various challenges, even now, during the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why he asked Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko to convey his gratitude to President Putin for the shipments of the 'Sputnik V' vaccine. They contributed to our country leading the way in vaccination and providing the population with a reliable defence against the coronavirus. In this regard, President Vučić and Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko discussed Serbia's possibility to independently produce vaccines with the help of experts from Russia and based on Russian technology.

President Vučić and Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko, on the eve of the visit of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation and Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Committee for Trade, Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation Yuri Borisov, stated that the realisation of joint infrastructure and energy projects is well implemented. The construction of the railway section from Stara Pazova to Novi Sad, which we build with the Russian RZD, is running according to the planned dynamics, and the completion of works is expected at the end of this year as President Vučić promised. At the same time, they discussed specific proposals for future cooperation.

President Vučić and Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko also discussed the regional situation.

Belgrade, 12th February 2021