Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia's President, said on Wednesday that his country and Russia had strategic and partner relations of mutual respect and understanding, the Beta news agency reported.

During a celebration of the Russian Day at Moscow's embassy in Belgrade, Vucic said that "every big day for Russia is equally big and important for Serbia."

He read the congratulatory note he sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he said he was "sincerely happy for Russian achievements."

Foreign Ministers of Serbia and Russia, Ivica Dacic and Sergey Lavrov, will meet in Moscow on April 17, reports Belgrade based daily Vecernje Novosti, quoting Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Chepurin.

"Confidential contacts between foreign political authorities have become regular," Chepurin noted in his Twitter account. He added that Dacic and Lavrov "complement intensive and friendly dialogue at the highest level - between the leaders of Vladimir Putin and Aleksandar Vucic".

The development of Russian-Serbian ties in the new year will certainly be determined by visit to Serbia by the Russian president, planned for January.

Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Chepurin wrote this in an op-ed published in the Belgrade daily Politika.

According to Chepurin, Vladimir Putin's visit promises to be dynamic and effective.

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.

President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic says he would "fight for Serbia with all his heart" during the UN Security Council session on Kosovo, to be held on Monday.

During an unscheduled press conference in Belgrade on Sunday, Vucic announced he would travel to New York on an Air Serbia plane, and "hopes it won't be late" - and noted that he would present "what Serbia thinks" after UN mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) chief Zahir Tanin addresses the Council.

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."

Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Chepurin says it is "increasingly clear" the EU is lacks the strength to secure the implementation of Kosovo dialogue agreements.

"The European Union, with the consent of Belgrade, assumed the role of a mediator in resolving the conflict. But today it is increasingly clear that it lacks the strength to ensure the implementation of even the first (Brussels) agreement," the diplomat told TV Most from Zvecan, a town in northern Kosovo.

Last week, Ambassador of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandr Chepurin, visited Mitrovica North, where he met mayors from northern Kosovo and Presidents of Serbian interim authorities, and laid wreaths at the two monuments. After that Chepurin visited returnee village “Sunny Valley.”