Serbian Ambassador to Russia: “Putin will not come, but our friendship has been tested by time”
Serbian Ambassador to Russia Miroslav Lozanski denied representatives of a number of Serbian and Russian media, eager for fried sensations, who saw in the cancellation of Vladimir Putin’s visit to Belgrade a cooling of relations between Belgrade and Moscow.
The attache spoke about this in an interview with Politika, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
In an interview, Miroslav Lozanski, a former military correspondent who reported from many hot spots in the world, said that due to the coronavirus epidemic, Vladimir Putin does not travel outside of Russia, and there is a special virus protection system near his permanent location.
Let us recall that it was previously planned that the Russian President would visit Serbia in anniversary liberation of Belgrade from the Germans through the joint efforts of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia and the Red Army.
It was also expected that Putin would take part in the ceremony consecration the main cathedral of the SOC - the Church of St. Sava, work on which is close to completion largely thanks to Russian specialists and Russian donations.
The cancellation of the Russian president's visit was greeted with joy by the Serbian president's ill-wishers, who perceived it as evidence of a cooling of Russian-Serbian relations, especially after Washington Accords.
“I don’t know of another European country that Lavrov visited twice in a year, and President Vladimir Putin visited us three times in the last four years,” Lozansky countered all these arguments. – The relations between Serbia and the Russian Federation are indestructible and are tested for strength every day.
I know that some circles in Belgrade would like this relationship to develop in the spirit of loud sensationalism, hence the attention-grabbing headlines in the press, but there is no sensationalism here. Serbia has its own interests, Russia has its own, but we are connected by a common note of friendship. They are not against Serbia joining the EU, but they are sensitive to the possibility of our joining NATO. That's why we have a policy of military neutrality, and the Russians respect it."
The Serbian Ambassador also noted that after the conclusion of the Washington Agreements in Belgrade, they did not receive negative feedback from Moscow.
“Nobody called me, the Russian media correctly covered the meeting in Washington,” Lozansky noted. – There were no negative comments regarding the provision on diversification of energy supply. In the end, President Aleksandar Vucic clearly said that we will buy the cheapest gas, that is, Russian. American liquefied gas has not even arrived in Europe yet, a terminal is being built on (the Croatian island - ed.) Krk, the only question is how quickly it will be launched.”
Also, the Serbian Ambassador to Russia noted that if Moscow wants to maintain its influence in the Balkans, it will be purely economic.
“Russia, like any superpower, wants to maintain its influence throughout the world. Of course, Russians are interested in the Balkans and Serbia. However, look at the influence of media soft power in our region.
Russians have only one media outlet (the Serbian edition of Sputnik radio – ed.) compared to the numerous branches of Western media that constantly talk about “the harmful influence of Russia”... Russia first of all wants to achieve economic influence in our region,” – said Miroslav Lozanski.
Giving characteristics of modern Moscow, where the reconstruction of the Serbian Embassy was completed this year, the interlocutor and former columnist for Politika noted that the capital of Russia is “a global metropolis, combining the features of London, Paris and New York, where the influence of the West on young people is felt much stronger than in Serbia.”
At the same time, Lozansky noted that he was admired by the cleanliness and level of safety in Moscow.
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