Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has sent holiday greetings to First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dacic.

In his message dated December 21, Lavrov said that Moscow is ready for further close cooperation "on the Kosovo issue."
The Foreign Ministry announced in a press release late on Tuesday that Dacic was presented with Lavrov's New Year and Christmas (to be celebrated in Serbia and Russia on January 7) message during a meeting in Belgrade with Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Chepurin.

The strengthening of the presence of NATO and the EU in the Balkans leads to a deeper destabilization of Europe, Sergei Lavrov has said to the Greek daily Efimerida Syntakton, quotes portal B92.

The Russian foreign minister pointed out that Moscow is concerned about these aspirations.

Aleksandar Vucic has denied that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US National Security Advisor John Bolton had agreed on a solution for Kosovo.

As the Serbian president said on Wednesday in Belgrade, Lavrov and Bolton did, for the first time, speak about Kosovo.

"Whatever agreements someone may be making, Serbia must agree too," Vucic said.

He added that he received a message from Lavrov.

"I repeat - anything that somebody is agreeing on Serbia must agree on, and we are far, far, far from any compromise solution," Vucic said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has posted a photo on Facebook showing herself and Serbia's and Russia's foreign ministers.

Sputnik is reporting that the photo was taken at the UN HQ in New York City, during the UN General Assembly meetings this week.
"Russian and Serbian brothers and sisters," Zakharova captioned the photo of herself, Sergei Lavrov, and Ivica Dacic.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Serbia in the fall, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said on Friday morning.

"I was told by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with whom I spoke in Moscow yesterday, that this was being planned," Dacic told RTS.
Dacic also said Lavrov told him that if the format of the Kosovo negotiations in Brussels were to be expanded, Moscow would be ready to participate.

Russia is ready to provide Serbian partners with support in defending legitimate national interests in relation to Kosovo, primarily in international structures, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a letter to Serbian counterpart Ivica Dacic, reports Belgrade based daily Vecernje Novosti.

Sergei Lavrov's visit showed that Russia's support for Aleksandar Vucic is effectively conditioned by his alliance with pro-Russian forces in the government.

This is according to Gennady Sisoyev, a correspondent for Russian daily Kommersant, who spoke for Beta agency.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says that Moscow is not opposed to Serbia and the region moving closer to the EU.

But the choice Brussels is putting before them - "either Russia or the West" - is a very wrong policy, Lavrov told Beta agency in an exclusive, wide-ranging interview on the eve of his visit to Serbia this week.

On September 19, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic on the sidelines of the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly.

The officials noted the high level of bilateral cooperation, eventful dynamics of political contacts, and mutual focus on implementing joint investment projects.

The sides reaffirmed their desire to continue close coordination of steps on the issue of Kosovo.