"EU path, no sanctions against Russia," PM reiterates

"EU path, no sanctions against Russia," PM reiterates

"Serbia supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine but, for various reasons, we are not in a situation to impose an embargo against Russia and we are making no secret of that", Vučić said.

"We think that our European partners understand Serbia's position well," he said.

Serbia will not give up on its European path, and it will be very committed to economic and rule-of-law reforms, Vučić said, noting that, as a small country, Serbia is making efforts to maintain its position and preserve stability in the region.

"Jeopardizing stability anywhere in the region would mean jeopardizing the stability of Serbia," Vučić said, expressing hope that the problems between Russia and Ukraine will be solved peacefully.

Manuel Valls told reporters that France "understands the importance Russia bears for Serbia and that it is not asking Belgrade to sacrifice its relations with Moscow."

Nevertheless, just like any other EU candidate, Serbia will have to join the European consensus, Valls told a joint news conference with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić.

"We know and we understand the importance which Russia has for Serbia, and we understand this all the better since we share years' long relations with Serbia and we also have strong relations with Russia, despite the current hardships," Valls said.

"We are not asking Serbia to sacrifice its relations with Moscow," he said, and added that Serbia can become "a member of the brotherhood" without interrupting its relations with Russia.

Valls said that he discussed the issue of relations with Russia with Vučić, and expressed the hope that the events would develop positively in the coming weeks and months and that the relations between Russia and Ukraine would take a positive course.

Commenting on the delivery of two Mistral helicopter carriers to Russia, he said that "the conditions for the delivery have still not been met."

Subway

"The traditionally good, friendly relations between Serbia and France must be preserved in the future, while the economic ties must be improved," Aleksandar Vučić said a Serbian-French business forum and the signing of several business agreements on Thursday.

Vučić announced that works on Belgrade's subway system will start in 2016, and thanked Valls once again for backing Serbia on its path to European integration.

"We had France's support even when it was not publicly apparent. Serbia knows how to respect that," Vučić said.

The Serbian prime minister said that, during the discussions with his French counterpart, he pledged that Serbia will protect regional stability.

"We will speak to all in the region - I pledged that we will solve problems in the best way possible, and I am confident that we will make great progress on specific matters and that, very soon, France will become one of our three most significant foreign trade partners," Vučić said.

Vučić, Valls and Belgrade Mayor Siniša Mali signed on Thursday a memorandum of understanding on the construction of a metro in Belgrade and five more agreements.