Putin's visit "destined to be success" - ambassador

Putin's visit "destined to be success" - ambassador

Serbia and Russia are friendly countries and the two nations are close, he said.

The visit has three main elements, and the first and most important goal is to transform the two nation's friendly relations, as well as political ties, into economic, scientific and cultural cooperation, the Russian ambassador said.

That will be the most significant part of the discussions, he said, adding that the agreements whose signing has been announced will address this.

The second objective of the visit is to pay a tribute to Serbian and Russian heroes, he said.

While the date of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade has no special significance for some, it is a significant event for the Russians and the Serbs, who suffered in the global cataclysm, Chepurin said.

"It is important to remember our history correctly - our nations were on the right side of history, demonstrating courage and suffering greatly. It is our duty to pay a tribute to them, Chepurin said, noting that 31,000 Soviet soldiers were killed in the liberation of Serbia," the diplomat said.

He said that the third objective is to establish contacts between the two leaderships to assess bilateral, as well as global issues.

Responding to comments that the Russian president's visit will be closely watched by foreign, in particular, Western officials and media, Chepurin said that Putin's trip to Belgrade is not a unique visit.

He has also visited Brussels, Paris, China, Brazil and many other countries and I see nothing strange in this, even more so because he will leave Belgrade for Milan, where he will attend the Europe-Asia summit - it is a normal thing, Chepurin said.

Putin is one of the leaders of the modern world - and a charismatic one at that - and his visits garner attention wherever he goes, Chepurin said.

"I hope that the visit to Belgrade will also contribute to highlighting Serbia's international role," he said.

The visit will not focus on global crisis spots or ways to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, Chepurin said.

Ahead of Putin's visit, the signing of seven agreements has been announced, with an expansion of Serbian customs-free exports to Russia to be discussed as well.

Chepurin said that 85 percent of the Serbian exports to Russia are customs-free and that goods that the regime does not apply to are being discussed.