The delegations of the two countries discussed today's geopolitical challenges, bilateral and interparliamentary cooperation and the close relations between the two nations.

Ragus expressed her satisfaction with the arrival of the Russian delegation, especially the head of the delegation, Grigory Karasin, who last visited our country 25 years ago. She said that the bilateral relations between the two countries are intense and strengthened by regular meetings of officials at all levels, from state presidents to parliamentarians, representatives of the executive and representatives of religious communities. She used the opportunity to, together with the Serbian delegation, thank Russia for its principled position on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Serbia, as well as its support to Serbia in international forums, alluding to the vote against the adoption of the Resolution on Srebrenica. She emphasised that Serbia remains fully committed to the dialogue with Pristina, because as she stated, it is the only way to achieve our goal regarding the establishment of the Community of Serb Municipalities. She shared the devastating fact that 15% percent of the Serbian population had left the Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija in the past year, and that one gets the impression that Albin Kurti has no intention of ceasing the oppression the Serbian population. On the other hand, Ragus emphasised that for Serbia it is vitally important to preserve stability in the region and its connections, so that the small countries of the Western Balkans can get stronger and raise their economic standards, as well as the standards of their citizens. She underlined the importance of parliamentary diplomacy and welcomed the existence of groups for cooperation with Serbia in both houses of the Federal Assembly, adding that the PFG with Russia in the National Assembly is traditionally one of the largest friendship groups.

Karasin and the delegation were grateful for the opportunity to meet, agreeing that meetings at the parliamentary level are extremely important for bilateral cooperation. He used the opportunity to thank Serbia for its principled stance on not imposing sanctions against Russia, citing the fact that since 2014, over 16,000 restrictions have been imposed on Russia by Europe. The head of the delegation stressed that Russia will continue to protect its national and state interests and will not accept the gross violation of freedom and rights. He congratulated Serbia on its selection as the host of the EXPO 2027 international exhibition, stating that Russian companies will take part in this event.

The officials also discussed the attempt to revise the historical events during the Second World War, with Ragus saying that Serbia attaches special attention and importance to the memory of the victims of wars, mentioning the Genocide Victims Museum in Belgrade, which conducts intensive activities to re-identify all victims of the Second World War.

At the meeting, the participants also discussed the successful cooperation in the field of culture, as well as close religious ties and the cooperation at the level of cities and regions.

In addition to Marina Ragus, MPs Biljana Pantic Pilja, Dunja Simonovic Bratic, Aleksandar Mirkovic and Vladimir Djordjevic also took part in the meeting, as well as Yelena Afanasyeva, Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Head of the Cooperation Group of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Bair Zhamsuyev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, and Alexey Kondratyev, member of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs.