"Serbs and Russians always on side of justice"

"Serbs and Russians always on side of justice"

"May 9 is our joint holiday of victory over fascism," Chepurin said, and reiterated that Russians and Serbs "have always been on the side of justice and fairness."

The reception was attended by Serbian President Tomislav Nikolić, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Sergei Naryshkin, who is currently on an official visit to Serbia, as well as members of the Serbian government including Minister of the Interior Nebojša Stefanović, Minister of Energy Aleksandar Antić, Defense Minister Bratislav Gašić, and Finance Minister Lazar Krstić.

Members of the Russian Duma and the Serbian National Assembly were also in attendance.

The Russian ambassador was the only official who addressed the reception, and he remarked, "We were told that it was holiday time in Serbia and that nobody would come but we can see that 99 percent of invitations were accepted."

"Today we are experiencing the tragedy of the brotherly people of Ukraine. After the Balkans, Yugoslavia, national-radicals are rising in Ukraine. Just as was the case 70 years ago in Khotyn, the fascists - this time in Odessa - are burning civilians alive. They and their masters are threatening Russia," said Chepurin.

According to the Russian ambassador, "more than 100 years ago, when Russia was threatened for helping Slavic nations in the Balkans, Russian Tsar Nikolai II said, prophetically, "To threaten Russia is easy. But it is in vain'."

"Complicated problems should be solved not with threats, but with political dialogue," Chepurin concluded.