The planned meeting between Aleksandar Vučić, the Serbian President, and Volodymyr Zelenskyj in Athens is the focus of the current Western Balkans summit. According to Vučić, the meeting takes place on Zelenskyj’s initiative. He would like to sit down with him and discuss various issues, including recent developments regarding Kosovo, the recognition and non-recognition of its territorial integrity and other relevant issues. Vučić expressed his expectation that the talks with the Ukrainian leader would be “pleasant and sincere”.

As Ukrainska Pravda points out, this is not the first time the two heads of state have met. Already on June 1, there was a short personal conversation between them on the sidelines of the summit of the European Political Community in Chisinau. Zelenskyj has arrived in Greece to take part in the Balkan summit. He is also among the guests at the informal dinner hosted by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Zelenskyj will address sanctions against Russia

Several important issues will be discussed during the summit. These include the European integration of the region, energy security in the Balkans and Southeastern Europe, and sanctions against Russia. It should be noted, as Ukrainska Pravda reports, Serbia has not yet imposed these sanctions. Another key point is Serbia’s dialogue with the Republic of Kosovo.