Ukraine's Zelenskyy to make first visit to Russia-friendly Serbia

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Ukraine's Zelenskyy to make first visit to Russia-friendly Serbia

2026-08-07 19:57 Last Updated At：20:00

BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will on Saturday make his first official visit to Serbia, one of the few European countries that have maintained friendly relations with Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine.

The office of Serbia's populist President Aleksandar Vucic announced the visit late Thursday. Zelenskyy's office has not officially confirmed his trip to Belgrade.

The visit comes as Vucic tries to balance Serbia’s traditional ties with Moscow against pressure to align its foreign policy with the European Union. Vucic has refused to join international sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, citing historic ties between the two Slavic nations.

Serbia is in the process of joining the EU, but that has been stalled partly because of Belgrade's policies toward Moscow.

Serbia relies almost entirely on Russia for its energy supplies. Although Belgrade has refused to sanction Russia, it has provided aid to Ukraine and Vucic has recently stepped up contacts with Kyiv, in an apparent bid to boost his image in the West.

Russia last year accused Serbia of exporting arms to Ukraine through NATO member states, describing the move as a “stab in the back.” Serbia also has promised to help rebuild Ukraine after the war.

Ahead of the visit, Vucic said he and Zelenskyy will discuss cooperation in various fields and their countries' paths toward EU membership. Vucic said Serbia does not intend to change its position on Russia sanctions.

“As far as sanctions are concerned, let me tell you directly: Serbia has established its policy,” Vucic said on Friday. He added that Serbia's stand “has not changed and this will remain so for the time being.”

Russia has faced international condemnation and sanctions since it launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Djordje Vlajic, a senior editor at the independent Fonet news agency in Belgrade, believes that both Vucic and Zelensky aim to make political gains from the Belgrade visit.

Zelenskyy “is sending a message to Russia that he is taking over of its key allies in the Balkans,” Vlajic said. Vucic, on his part, “wants to keep the link alive with the EU and send a signal to Brussels that he shares their (EU) position about the war,” he added.

Serbia has been told it could lose access to EU funds and cannot move ahead with its EU membership bid because of its Moscow ties and general democratic backsliding under Vucic, who has faced a year of youth-led protests following a train station disaster in November 2024 that killed 16 people.

Vucic and Zelenskyy have met on several occasions since the start of the Russian invasion. Vucic traveled to Ukraine twice to attend summits on strengthening European support for Kyiv’s fight against Russian aggression, but each time he refused to sign a joint declaration calling for tougher sanctions against Moscow.

AP Writer Dusan Stojanovic contributed.

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she will oppose Todd Blanche's nomination as attorney general

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Friday she will oppose Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general, narrowing the confirmation path for President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department.

The Alaska senator, who joins GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in opposing Blanche, cited the Justice Department's handling of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, a sweeping tax audit immunity deal for Trump and a proposed $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate the Republican president's allies.

“The country needs an Attorney General who will check the worst impulses of this administration. I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that, if confirmed, but I simply do not have confidence that will be the case," Murkowski said.

Murkowski said she is concerned the Trump administration could proceed with its proposed fund to compensate people who believe they were unfairly investigated or prosecuted by the Justice Department even after Blanche formally rescinded it. Murkowski said the Senate has leverage over the fund only because Blanche’s nomination is pending.

“Once we vote, that will end, and there is no telling what the future holds,” she said.

With Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky not attending Senate sessions, Blanche can only afford to lose two Republican votes if all Democrats oppose him. And another key Republican, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, has not said how he will vote.

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Blanche's nomination only after a deal reached last weekend with two other Republican senators — John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — who had been threatening to block his confirmation over the settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service regarding the president’s leaked tax returns.

Cornyn and Tillis backed Blanche’s nomination after Blanche rescinded the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” writing in an order “beyond any doubt, that there is no Fund.”

But Democrats say Blanche’s order doesn’t go far enough to prevent the Trump administration from reviving the fund after the acting attorney general’s confirmation and have called for legislation to permanently bar it. Trump has repeatedly defended the fund and has threatened to push forward with it if Republicans don't support Blanche's nomination.

Cornyn and Tillis had also pressed for clarification on a separate part of the settlement that would grant Trump and members of his family immunity from tax audits.

Under the deal, the Justice Department clarified in writing that the tax audit immunity agreement applies only to claims open at the time of the settlement and does not protect Trump from examination of future tax filings. It also makes clear that only the parties that brought the lawsuit — Trump, two of his sons and the Trump Organization — are covered by the tax agreement.