First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dacic has spoken with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexander Grushko in Belgrade today.

At the joint press conference, Minister Dacic expressed his pleasure at the visit of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexander Grushko. He conveyed that they discussed bilateral relations, cooperation in all areas and the issue of Kosovo and Metohija.
"Alexander Grushko is our friend, we have been working together for quite some time and I can state that the relations between our two Ministries are extremely good. His visit is part of our regular cooperation, that is, part of regular political consultations between our two Ministries.

We have both assessed that our relations are at the highest level and previous mutual visits have been extremely positive and highlighted great expectations in the upcoming visit of President Vucic to the Russian Federation and President Putin which will take place on 4 December', said the Minister.

Minister has reiterated his gratitude to the Russian Federation for its strong and principled position which safeguards territorial integrity as a principle of international law and, therefore, Serbia's stance with regards to our territorial integrity and sovereignty.

The Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs said that talks on cooperation in the areas of culture, tourism, education, sport as well as security had occurred at the meeting today.
'When it comes to economic cooperation, we expect it to expand every year and our aim is to increase foreign trade to 4 billion dollars.

I would like to call to mind that I am the Co-Chair of the Intergovernmental Committee on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation on the Serbian side, whereas Vice Premier Boris Borisov is the Co-Chair on the Russian side. We will have a meeting of inner Committee membership in December in Moscow and we expect the next session of the Intergovernmental Committee to take place in the first half of next year in Kazan.

Minister has also conveyed that President Vucic is looking forward to the ceremonies in Moscow on the occasion of 75 years marking the victory in the Second World War, emphasizing that it is a great honor to be reminded of the alliance considering that our two peoples made an enormous contribution in the fight against fascism.
Deputy Minister Alexander Grushko expressed his gratitude for the cordial welcome, declaring that an honest friendship exists between Serbia and Russia and adding that Moscow advocates for a Balkans as a peaceful and stable region.

He also said that the meeting reasserted commitment to the strategic partnership between Russia and Serbia.