Popovic: Serbia working with Russia in mutual interest

ST PETERSBURG - Serbia's minister without portfolio for international economic cooperation Nenad Popovic said on Friday he had discussed with Russian FM Sergey Lavrov and Minister of Economic Cooperation Maxim Reshetnikov the issue of Serbia's Russian majority-owned oil company NIS and the problems it was facing due to the threat of US sanctions.

"With Lavrov and Reshetnikov, we discussed the issue of NIS and the problems it is facing due to potential sanctions. We agreed, and the two presidents have also agreed, that we will take no steps without a joint approach to that problem, and that everything we do, both now and in the future, we will do in the interest of both sides," Popovic told reporters after meetings with the Russian officials, held at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

He said he had also discussed with Lavrov the problems faced by Serbs in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija as a result of what he noted was a terrible policy pursued by the Albin Kurti regime with Western support.

"Russia is with us, it has been and it will always be with us on the issue of Kosovo-Metohija. For Russia, it is an inseparable part of Serbia and, together with us, it will do everything on all international platforms to ensure special discussions are held about the problem faced by the Serbs," he said.

Popovic said the meeting with Reshetnikov had addressed all aspects of economic relations - energy, natural gas supplies, agriculture, new technologies and the industry.

"We discussed ways to make our trade volume even higher, as the presidents of our two countries, Aleksandar Vucic and Vladimir Putin, agreed on May 9. We have intensive relations with both ministers and I expect the cooperation to be continued in the coming period," Popovic said.

Commenting on his meeting with Russian Deputy PM for Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev, Popovic said bilateral cooperation in agriculture and the food industry would be improved, with more news from the sector due in the coming period.