Ukrainian Foreign Minister and First Lady Zelenska makes first visit to Belgrade

Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska, together with Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, arrived in Belgrade on 12 May, marking the first visit by a senior Ukrainian official to Serbia since the onset of Russia's full-scale aggression.

As reported by 24-hour news channel N1, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine stated that Kuleba's schedule in Belgrade includes meetings with President Aleksandar Vučić, Speaker of Parliament Ana Brnabić, Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, and Foreign Minister Marko Đurić.

Meanwhile, N1 reports that Olena Zelenska, accompanied by the wife of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Tamara, toured the city and the medieval fortress of Kalemegdan. 

There, she had the opportunity to listen to an audio guide about the fortress, which has been available in Ukrainian since April 2024.

It was reported that Zelenska also visited the library in Belgrade, particularly the Roman Hall exhibition and the Ukrainian Shelf, a corner of the library with Ukrainian books created under her patronage.

An agreement on scientific, educational and cultural cooperation between the University of Belgrade and the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv was signed in the presence of the first ladies.

Serbia, Russia's ally in the Balkans, has repeatedly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the UN and other international forums, but has refused to join international sanctions against the Kremlin.

Since 2022, Aleksandar Vučić has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy three times during international events abroad, most recently at the Ukraine-Balkans Summit in Tirana in February.

During the summit, Vučić insisted that references to sanctions against Russia be removed from the final declaration.