President: Serbia expect Russia’s support

Source: Beta, Tanjug

BELGRADE -- Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić has accepted credentials from new Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Chepurin and said Serbia expects Russia's support.

(Beta)
(Beta)

“Serbia’s leaders highly appreciate Russia’s support in combat for respect of the international law when it comes to Kosovo and Metohija and protection of territorial integrity and sovereignty,” he noted on Thursday.

The Serbian president said that this was a sensitive moment for Serbia, that it was facing important decisions and that it expected Russia’s support.

He added that traditional friendship and historical and spiritual ties between the Serbian and Russian people should contribute to a more dynamic and stable development of the two countries’ relations.

Nikolić said Serbia was determined to implement all agreements reached by Russia and Serbia and that both Russian and Serbian citizens would benefit from them.

He encouraged the new Russian ambassador to more actively promote Russian investments in Serbia because strengthening of economic cooperation was key in the time of crisis.

Chepurin said that Serbia and Russia had century-long friendship and that great relations existed not only between officials but between the two peoples.

“This is a cornerstone of our progress. The past greatly determines our future and it is our job to make the future as good as possible for citizens of our countries,” the ambassador stressed.

He added that there was a political will in Serbia and Russia to establish a new level of the two countries’ relations and assessed that Nikolić and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s meetings “give a strong impulse”.

Chepurin reiterated Russia’s support to Serbia when it comes to the protection of its territorial integrity and added that the solving of the Kosovo issue in accordance with the international law and UN Security Council Resolution 1244 was the only fair solution.

He said that the world faced a great economic crisis and that the best way to overcome problems was to work together on projects that would enable growth and recovery of the economy.