Serbia won't change Russia policy, expects Lavrov's visit

Serbia won't change Russia policy, expects Lavrov's visit

VIENNA -- Serbia respects the territorial integrity of UN member-states, but will never adopt measures against Russia or oppose Moscow.

This is what Serbia's Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić said at a Council of Europe ministerial meeting in Vienna on Tuesday.

"Our position will not change," Dačić told Tanjug, adding that he expected Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to visit Belgrade "soon."

Dačić, who also serves as Serbia's first prime minister, told reporters in Vienna that his country will never work against Russia, and that this was "a moral issue." He added that Serbia and Russia would continue their joint projects.

He said that discussion about the crisis in Ukraine "could not have been avoided" at the Vienna meeting, but there was "no big debate" regarding the topic and that participants "discussed ways of helping in this situation."

Serbia is focused on its future presidency of the OSCE, which it is scheduled to take over in 2015, he pointed out.

"Next year will probably be spent in finding solutions for many existing issues that we will have to arbitrate," Dačić underscored.