Before today, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Belgrade appeared to  be a certainty, but today it has been brought into a big question.

Speaking to the Pink television from Bratislava, where he is taking part in the GLOBSEC Forum, the President of Serbia said that the situation surrounding Lavrov’s arrival, which according to media reports was planned for June 7, is becoming complicated.

“It is getting complicated, it is certainly getting complicated. I am not ready to speak about it yet, but yes, it is getting complicated, the question is how he will arrive… we will see,” saud Vučić.

Asked whether “it would be bad news” if Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz did not come to Belgrade, which the media reported as being planned for June 10, Vučić answered in the affirmative.

“It would be a tragedy… Can you imagine if the German Chancellor was planning to visit a certain country, and then said that he could not or would not go… Naturally, it would be bad news,” he said.

Asked “whether that is a possibility”, Vučić answered that his hope is that it will not happen.

“There is always a possibility, but it is my hope that it will not happen. But we will see, first we will see whether Lavrov comes, and then we will see… and there are reactions from other countries as well,” he said.

Vladan Živulović, President of the Atlantic Council of Serbia, said to the Danas newspaper that the “complications” surrounding Lavrov’s visit are a consequence of blackmail.

“Based on President Vučić’s statement, we may draw the conclusion that the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit is conditional upon the cancellation of Sergey Lavrov’s visit. This puts Vučić in a critical situation, as he must weigh which one is more important — relations with Russia or membership in the EU,” pointed out Živulović.

Member of Assembly Vladan Glišić pointed out that it is evident that Aleksandar Vučić is being pressured in order to further limit the number of countries on the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs’ planned itinerary.

“This pressure has been ongoing for a long time now, and nobody is even attempting to hide it. Whenever a Western official arrives to Belgrade, the first thing they do is demand that Serbia, as they put it, align its policy with the European Union’s policy. That mostly goes to show how much respect the European Union has for the international law and democratic procedure,” said Glišić, adding that it was his belief that imposing any sanctions on Russia is not in Serbia’s best interest.