Putin to Visit Serbia as Pressure Mounts for Deal With Kosovo
- Arrival coincides with uproar over Kosovo partition proposal
- Serbian leader Vucic has courted Putin as foil to EU
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Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Serbia in October or November as his Balkan ally pushes for an agreement with Kosovo that has ignited controversy over a key step in the country’s efforts to join the European Union.
Putin’s Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic, made headlines last month when he announced that he was in favor of partitioning Kosovo, the site of the last war in the bloody breakup of former Yugoslavia. While German Chancellor Angela Merkel has rejected redrawing borders, Russia’s ambassador to Serbia said Moscow would support an agreement. Vucic has said support from Russia, a key ally of his government, is crucial to any deal.