Marko Djuric has offered his condolences to Russian Ambassador Aleksandar Chepurin over the death of Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin.

According to a statement, the head of the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and the top Russian diplomat in Serbia met in Belgrade on Tuesday.

During the meeting, Djuric said that "the Russian Federation and world diplomacy lost a great fighter for the respect of international law and the acquis on which the United Nations are based."

"Serbia is eternally grateful to Ambassador Churkin and the Russian Federation for everything they have done for the protection of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our country, as well as for the reputation of Serbia and the Serbian people," Djuric said.

The Serbian official and the Russian ambassador "also spoke about preparations for the next regular meeting of the UN Security Council on Kosovo and Metohija, as well as on joint action to prevent membership of the self-proclaimed Kosovo in international organizations," the government said, quoting the Office.

Chepurin "reiterated the principled position of the Russian Federation on the issue of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia, and stressed the readiness of the Russian side to continue to actively support efforts to protect the rights and legitimate interests of Serbia in relation to Kosovo and Metohija."

Djuric "underlined that it is necessary to enable Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija to form the Community of Serb Municipalities in cooperation with Belgrade as soon as possible, in accordance with the agreements reached in Brussels."

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