Serbs ‘incredulous’ after Lavrov banned from Balkans airspace

RUSSIAN Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s plans to fly to Serbia have been thrown into chaos after Montenegro, North Macedonia and Bulgaria banned him from their airspace.

The three Nato member states surround the landlocked country and there is now no way for his plane to fly to Belgrade for a meeting with Aleksandar Vucic, the Serbian president, due to begin today.

Ana Brnabic, the Serbian prime minister, told one of the country’s TV news channel that Mr Vucic was personally handling Mr Lavrov’s travel plans.

“It is unbelievable that the situation in Europe and the world right now is such that the president of one country has to deal with such things as the logistics of the arrival of the foreign minister of another country, ” she said.

Pro-russia Serbia had been the only

European country to keep an air link to Russia after Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24.

Russians have also been able to fly directly to Istanbul but all other flights have been east.

The trip by Mr Lavrov to Serbia appears to have been planned at the last minute as it was only confirmed on June 3 to “discuss international issues”.

Some commentators said that Mr Vucic may have wanted the potentially embarrassing visit by Mr Lavrov cancelled in any case.

“If Lavrov visits Serbia, Scholz should cancel his meetings in Belgrade this week,” said Ivana Stradner, an adviser to Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank.

Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, is due to travel to all six Western Balkan countries to show his support for their EU memberships ahead of a European Council meeting.