President of Serbia proposed to hold summit in Belgrade with participation of Putin, Trump
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has announced the idea of holding a summit in Belgrade in the spring of 2026 with the participation of Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and other world leaders, RIA Novosti reports
On the air of the Informer TV channel, Aleksandar Vucic said, “I have an idea for next year, and I am voicing it to you here for the first time: to hold a large global forum focusing on various topics in Belgrade. I actually think that Belgrade is the only city that could welcome Putin, Trump, [French President Emmanuel] Macron, [Italian Prime Minister Giorgio] Meloni, [German Chancellor Friedrich] Merz and many others with political topics at such a forum next year. No other [city] in the world is capable of doing that, and I will try to ask the great leaders to help organise this summit. I would like it to be held from March to May, but it depends on other forums and other commitments. First, I want to get permission to organise such a forum from the world leaders, and I will talk with others then.”
On April 6th, Aleksandar Vucic announced his readiness to hold a meeting of ‘friends of Serbia’ in Belgrade: Trump, Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but he stressed that there’re certain restrictions in the region and he did not harbour unnecessary hopes. In addition, he expressed the expectation that he will be among the top twenty leaders received in Washington ‘in the next 30 days, in early May’, and that he has many topics for a conversation with the US leader. The President of Serbia has repeatedly promised to come to Moscow on May 9th for Victory Day, where he expects to hold a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
“The main question was raised in the Croatian media: what measures the EU will take against Vucic for his visit to Moscow on May 9th. [Chinese President] Xi Jinping, [Prime Minister of India] Narendra Modi, [Brazilian President Luiz Inacio] Lula da Silva, [Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart] Tokayev, [Slovak] Prime Minister Robert Fico, actually a half of the world, will go there. I will represent one of the smallest countries, and I have plans for that visit, I should negotiate gas supplies (and this topic is to be discussed with Putin, not with St. Peter), and I should discuss the Serbian oil related issues with Putin, not with someone else. It is an honour for me to be present at [events in honour of] the 80th anniversary of the Victory over fascism, because we liberated ourselves not on our own, but with the support and assistance of the Red Army or with their dominant role – as you like; anyway, it was a joint victory,” Aleksandar Vucic said. He recalled that he had refused to send Serbian military personnel to the Victory parade in Russia, so that the army of his country does not end up under sanctions.
Earlier, the Serbian leader said that, during his visit to Russia, he hopes to discuss the extension of the gas supply agreement (which expires on May 31st) and the situation developing around the oil firm of Serbia, NIS. The company is threatened by the US sanctions, because 56.14 percent of its shares belong to Gazprom Neft and Gazprom.
