The State Department reacts to the meeting between Lavrov and Dacic in Moscow: No country should give Putin a platform

The visit of Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic to Moscow and the meeting with the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov provoked a reaction from the US State Department.

“We do not believe that any country should offer Putin a platform to promote or justify his ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine,” a State Department spokesman said in a statement to Radio Free Europe (RFE).

Ivica Dacic travelled to Moscow at Lavrov’s invitation to attend, among other things, a friendly football match between the Serbian and Russian national football teams.

Official Belgrade has neither respected EU sanctions nor broken off contacts with the Kremlin since Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Dacic, the Minister for Foreign Affairs in a technical mandate, has publicly defended the position that Serbia is not imposing sanctions against Russia, even though it is obliged to do so by the European Union.

In a statement to Serbian journalists after the meeting in Moscow, he said that maintaining relations with Russia and China was a “vital national state interest” for Serbia.

Dacic thanked Russia for its firm stance and support for Serbia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as for the Kosovo issue.

“It is crucial for us to know that we have one safe voice in the Security Council,” he said.

Official Belgrade is counting on the support of Russia and China in international organisations and institutions for the non-recognition of Kosovo as a state.

Although it does not recognize Kosovo’s independence, Serbia is engaged in a dialogue with Pristina on normalizing relations under the auspices of the EU.

According to Russian media reports, Lavrov said before his meeting with Dacic that the situation in the Balkans is very serious and that both “Serbia and Russia are interested in preventing new crises in the region”.

Lavrov told Dacic that he wanted to hear his assessment of the situation in the Balkans.

“Russia is interested in listening to Serbia’s assessment of the current serious situation in the Balkans and everyone is interested in preventing new crises in these areas,” Tass reports.

Lavrov said before his meeting with Dacic that Russia valued relations with Serbia and that it is satisfied with the way joint projects are progressing.

“We value the relations that are developing between the Russian Federation and Serbia. The tone of these relations is set by the regular contacts between our Presidents Putin and Vucic.

We are satisfied with the way in which agreements are being implemented in the material sphere, trade, investment, humanitarian exchanges, as well as in the field of sports cooperation”, Lavrov said, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

According to the Russian news agency Tass, the talks between Lavrov and Dacic are always held in a friendly atmosphere.

“Despite serious pressure on Serbia from the collective West, Belgrade maintains genuinely friendly relations with Moscow. “Serbia’s position on anti-Russian sanctions also remains unchanged, as its top representatives have repeatedly refused to join the West’s anti-Russian measures,” Tass quoted him as saying.

Dacic and Lavrov last met in September last year, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Three weeks ago, they met at a diplomatic forum in Antalya, Turkey, but did not hold a meeting.