Sergei Lavrov’s aborted visit confronts Serbia with its contradictions – Liberation

A Storm in the AirSubscriber ArticleUkrainian-Russian WarDossierRussia’s foreign minister was due to visit Serbia two days after the country renewed its gas deal with Russia, but he hasn’t been authorized to fly over neighboring countries and had to cancel his visit. “Russian diplomacy has not yet learned to teleport”, mocks a diplomatic source with the Russian news agency Interfax. Sergei Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, has been forced to cancel his two-day visit to Belgrade, Serbia. The announcement came on Sunday evening, a few hours before the departure scheduled for Monday. At issue: the decision of Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro – all members of NATO – to close their airspace to the minister’s plane. Impossible, therefore, to reach Serbia, landlocked country in the heart of the Balkans. It is a severe setback for the head of diplomacy of Russia, engaged in a standoff with the West through the war in Ukraine. Instead of a Belgrade getaway, Sergei Lavrov called a press conference at the last minute on Monday noon. It was followed with attention by the Serbian media, in particular the titles closest to power. Several tabloids, such as Informer, put this quote from the minister on the front page: “No one can ruin our relations, we appreciate Serbia’s courageous position!” Russian gas “at friendly prices”…