Cooperation with Russia at the highest level is of utmost importance for Serbia, especially in the field of energy.

This was stated by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić at the beginning of his meeting today with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which is taking place in Beijing, BGNES reported.

"I hope that we will have the opportunity not only to maintain but also to improve certain aspects of our cooperation. Energy is an extremely important area for us, and gas supplies are of particular importance to us," said the Serbian president. He added that thanks to the oil pipeline being built jointly with Hungary, Serbia will be able to further develop its cooperation with Russia in the energy sector.

"All Russian companies are welcome, including Russian Railways, Rosatom, and many others that would like to participate in infrastructure projects in Serbia," Vucic said, as quoted by the Serbian official newspaper Politika.

For his part, Putin said that "Moscow respects Serbia's independent orientation."

"We are ready to work together. I hope that we will be able to discuss economic cooperation in more detail," Putin said, announcing that a new session of the Joint Committee on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation between Serbia and Russia would be held by the end of the year.

Vucic and Putin will discuss a wide range of topics, from energy and energy supplies to joint infrastructure projects and overall bilateral relations between Serbia and Russia.

The President of Serbia will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing the day after tomorrow. This meeting is expected to give new impetus to the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Serbia and China. | BGNES