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“We talked as people who have known each other for a long time, as friends, and the ten-minute conversation was marked by a personal note, and we also talked about those who are weak (pro-Western) leaders,� Vucic said.

Vucic quoted Putin as saying “what is good for Serbia is also good for Russia, what is good for the Serbs is also good for the Russians.�

Vucic did not say whether he would accept an earlier invitation by Putin to attend a BRICS summit of emerging economies, led by Russia and China, in Kazan later this week.

Although formally seeking EU membership, Serbia has refused to join Western sanctions against Russia over though it has reluctantly condemned Moscow’s aggression. that imposing the sanctions wasn’t in Serbia’s national interest.

He said Sunday he expects criticism from the West of his conversation with Putin, but stated that “Serbia is a sovereign country which makes its own decisions.�

He also thanked Russia “for providing sufficient quantities of gas for Serbia at favorable prices.� Serbia was almost completely dependent on the Russian gas but has recently agreed to start to diversify its supplies.

Serbia, which was never part of the Soviet bloc, on Sunday marked the 80th anniversary of the liberation of its capital Belgrade from the Nazi World War II occupation, which was accomplished mostly thanks to former Yugoslavia’s communist partisans, but also the Soviet Red Army.

Belgrade’s nationalist authorities marked the liberation date with a display of the pro-Russian sentiment, with thousands marching through Belgrade waving Russian flags and chanting slogans.

At a meeting marking the anniversary, Vucic delivered a speech in the Russian language, which he said is a sign of respect for the Red Army, without which “there would not have been the liberation of Belgrade.�