Thế Giới

Three countries ban planes carrying Russian Foreign Minister

Russia said three of Serbia’s neighbors did not allow the plane scheduled to carry Foreign Minister Lavrov to cross its airspace to Belgrade, forcing him to cancel the schedule.

“Countries bordering Serbia have closed the only air route for the plane carrying Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to this country. Delegation. Russia scheduled talks in Belgrade, but the European Union (EU) and NATO member states have closed their airspace,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on June 5.





Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a press conference in Algiers, Algeria last month.  Photo: AFP.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a press conference in Algiers, Algeria last month. Image: AFP.

A Russian diplomatic source said that the three countries that closed their airspace to the plane carrying the Russian foreign minister were Montenegro, North Macedonia and Bulgaria. Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova confirmed that Sofia refused to allow the Russian government plane to pass through the airspace.

Foreign Minister Lavrov is scheduled to visit the Serbian capital Belgrade from June 6 to June 7 and hold talks with President Aleksandar Vucic. However, due to the decision of the three countries neighboring to Serbia, he canceled this trip. Serbia’s other neighbors are said to have also imposed a ban on Russian planes under Western sanctions.

Serbia, which has close cultural ties to Russia, has refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.

Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Vucic agreed that Moscow would continue to supply gas to Serbia at the “cheapest price in Europe”. This gas supply contract was scheduled to be signed during Foreign Minister Lavrov’s visit to Belgrade.





Location of Serbia.  Graphics: Britannica.

Location of Serbia. Graphics: Britannica.

Belgrade’s current 10-year gas supply contract with Russian energy giant Gazprom expires on June 7.

President Vucic is scheduled to meet Russian Ambassador Aleksandar Bocan-Harcenko today to discuss the decision to close the airspace of the three neighboring countries.

Vucic planned to discuss with Foreign Minister Lavrov on gas supplies to Serbia, including issues related to price, quantity as well as supply security. If not cancelled, it would be the first visit by a senior Russian official to Serbia since the Ukraine crisis erupted.

Huyen Le (Follow CNN, Reuters, Anadolu Agency)

You are reading the article Three countries ban planes carrying Russian Foreign Minister
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here

Back to top button