Serbia gave Vladimir Putin a hero’s welcome on Thursday as the Russian president’s plane arrived in Belgrade escorted by an honour guard of MiG-29 fighter jets that he recently donated to the country. “I’m delighted to be able to visit friendly, brotherly Serbia,” Putin told the Serbian leader, Aleksandar Vučić, at the airport. “Although Serbia is not a very large country geographically, you can rely on us,” Vučić told Putin before the pair went into talks. Putin claimed the EU was forcing Serbia to make an “artificial choice” between Moscow and the west. Now is chance for Kosovo deal, says Serbian president – but at what cost?

Source: The Guardian January 17, 2019 09:11 UTC