Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic traveled to Odesa for a regional summit on Wednesday.

This is the first time the Moscow-friendly leader has visited Ukraine during his 12 years in office. Senior officials from 12 Southeastern European nations joined the summit, hosted by President Zelenskyy. During the meeting, Vucic, who has met Zelenskyy at least three times before, indicated that Serbia could aid Kyiv in the reconstruction of Ukraine’s war-affected areas.

The Serbian President, who navigates relations between Russia and the West, noted his abstention from signing the joint declaration at the summit, highlighting Serbia’s desire to maintain amicable relations with both Kyiv and Moscow. The joint declaration endorses Ukraine’s commitment to a diplomatic approach for achieving a fair and lasting peace. It calls on the international community to enhance its support for Kyiv and to refrain from supplying material or any assistance to Russia’s military efforts.

While Belgrade has chosen not to participate in Western sanctions against Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine, it has nevertheless denounced Moscow’s actions at the UN and affirmed its support for Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty.