Djuric argued that his proposal was realistic by the fact that Serbia is “friends with all parties involved” and, like a number of other countries, is trying to “put an end to the terrible tragedy that led to so many victims and destruction.” Another argument is “given our history.”
The Serbian diplomat stressed that Belgrade “in principle supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states in accordance with their borders established by the UN,” and this also applies to Ukraine.
Fox News draws attention to the fact that Djukic’s proposal for a meeting in Belgrade came after the summit in the Hungarian capital Budapest between US President Donald Trump and the illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin was “postponed” (according to another version, cancelled).
Serbia and Russia have “historical ties” that go back to the Orthodox Church, so Belgrade would be a “surprise choice” for a peace summit in Ukraine, Fox News said. The journalists also recalled that Serbia condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the “elections” in the occupied territories of Ukraine, but refused to join the anti-Russian sanctions of the West.
Context
On October 16, Trump had a telephone conversation with Putin, after which he announced their meeting in Budapest. He did not announce the date of the summit.
On October 21, CNN reported that the meeting between Trump and Putin may not take place as planned.
On October 22, Trump announced that he had canceled the summit with Putin in Budapest, but, according to him, they will meet in the future. On the same day, the US Treasury imposed sanctions against the Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil.
On October 23, Putin said that “it would be a mistake” to prepare poorly for the meeting and leave after it “without the expected result,” so the summit was not canceled, but “rather, postponed.”
