Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric said Serbia is ready to welcome a possible meeting between US President-elect Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Serbia can play an important role as a host. President [Aleksandar] Vučić has built an international reputation, which allows us to be a venue for such meetings," Djuric told Radio Television of Serbia.
Various international media have been reporting in recent days on the possibility of such a meeting, while Trump - who has vowed to quickly end Russia's war in Ukraine - is expected to officially take office on January 20.
The Kremlin said on Monday that there are no specific preparations for the meeting yet, while a Trump adviser said the two leaders are expected to speak by phone in the coming days or weeks, Reuters reports.
Speaking for RTS, Gjurič said that Belgrade can successfully become a meeting place.
"I believe that we can make our contribution and play a small, but not completely insignificant, role and offer such a thing to our partners," said Gjurič.
Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vucic, spoke a day earlier about Serbia's readiness to become a possible host for Trump and Putin.
Serbia, Russia's ally, is the only country in the Western Balkans region that has not joined the West's sanctions against Russia, due to its invasion of Ukraine.
Last week, its oil industry, NIS, which is largely owned by a Russian company, was sanctioned by the US.
However, Djuric said that Serbia has taken all measures to avoid disturbances in the market.
He also said that Serbia will start the strategic dialogue with the United States and described this as an important step in strengthening relations between the two countries.
"This is of exceptional importance for Serbia's international position. The partnership regularizes the exchange between our institutions and contributes to the development of relations in the field of economy, new technology, culture and education, with a greater number of scholarships", said Gjurič.
For the elections in Kosovo
The Serbian chief diplomat also spoke about the parliamentary elections that will be held in Kosovo on February 9.
"It is important that our people remain united and that the Serbian List participates in the elections, to show that we are not retreating," said Djuric.
"I really want the Serbs to go to the elections, to show [Kosovo Prime Minister Albin] Kurti that we are not giving up, that we are not leaving the institutions and that the Serbs and Serbia are not backing down," he added.
The Serbian List was formed in 2013 with the support of the official Belgrade and since then it is the only party that has the support of Serbia for participation in the institutions of Kosovo.
In addition to the Serbian List, in the competition for the ten guaranteed seats for Serbs in the Assembly of Kosovo are five other political entities that represent the Serbian community: the Serbian People's Movement, For Freedom, Justice and Survival, the Party of Kosovo Serbs, Serbian Democracy and Initiative Civil People's Justice./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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