MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Serbian counterpart, Aleksandar Vucic, exchanged congratulations on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade during World War II, as well as discussed bilateral relations during a phone conversation, the Kremlin said on Sunday.
"Vladimir Putin had a phone conversation with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. The leaders exchanged congratulations on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade from the Nazi invaders. On this day in 1944, the Belgrade offensive operation of the Soviet Army, in which units of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia participated, ended. This became one of the key events in the final stage of World War II in the Balkans," the Kremlin said in a statement.
Putin and Vucic expressed their satisfaction with the current level of bilateral relations, which are based on spiritual, cultural and historical commonality, unity of assessments of the past and the present. They also confirmed their intention to further strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas, the statement said.
Vucic also thanked Putin for Russia's principled position regarding Serbia's territorial integrity, it added.
"The situation around Ukraine was also discussed. Vladimir Putin assessed the progress of the special military operation. The leaders agreed to continue to maintain personal contacts," the statement read.