Serbian president reaches Moscow, albeit not without trouble

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić has arrived in Moscow on the afternoon of 7 May to attend the Victory Day parade. [a Russian holiday commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, celebrated on 9 May – ed.]

As reported by Serbian public broadcaster RTS, Vučić was met at the airport by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko and a guard of honour.

The plane carrying Vučić first landed in Baku, Azerbaijan, where it awaited clearance to continue its journey due to "hostilities between Russia and Ukraine", namely, the presence of Ukrainian loitering munitions in Russian airspace and ongoing air defence activity.

The Kremlin reported that he is due to meet with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin on Friday 9 May.

Since Latvia and Lithuania have banned Vučić's plane from entering their airspace, the exact route he took to reach the Russian capital remains unclear.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and Vučić will be the only European leaders attending Putin's 9 May Victory Day celebrations in Moscow.