Duma's Pushkov received by top Serbian officials

Duma's Pushkov received by top Serbian officials

"Serbia is on the path towards the EU, but it wants to maintain open and sincere political relations with Russia at the highest level," the statement quoted Vucic as saying.

In view of the ample possibilities, Serbia wants to improve further the economic cooperation with Russia, he said.

Vucic said that he is hoping for increased exports of Serbian agricultural products to the Russian market, and that the participation of Serbian ministers in an upcoming forum in Saint Petersburg will be an opportunity to reach an agreement on the matter.

The cooperation between the two countries' MPs is making a particular contribution to the bilateral relations, Pushkov said, proposing the establishment of an interparliamentary commission such as the ones that Russia has with China, India, France and Italy.

Earlier in the day, Aleksei Pushkov met with Serbian Deputy Parliament Speaker Veroljub Arsic, and "expressed hope that Russia will have Serbia's support when a decision on lifting the sanctions against Russia is made in January 2016," Tanjug reported.

Pushkov also said that Russia also expects Serbia's support at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly meeting in Helsinki, where draft resolutions on confronting neo-Nazism and lifting the sanctions against Russia will be presented.

Puskhov noted that respect of the Minsk Agreement and a normalization of the situation in eastern Ukraine are a priority for Russia, which is a pre-requisite for the start of the process of lifting the sanctions, the Serbian parliament said in a statement.

The Russian official noted that Serbia's candidate for the secretary general of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly can count on Russia's support.

Serbia's position is that all problems must be resolved through dialogue, and not through sanctions, Arsic said.

He added "friendly relations and exceptional cooperation between the two countries" reflect in the fact that Russia has not recognized Kosovo.

While in Belgrade, Pushkov also met with Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic.