Serbian media "Novosti" reported on May 6 that Lithuania and Latvia refused the request of Serbia's President Vucic to fly over their airspace. Vucic originally planned to visit Russia on May 9 to attend the "Victory Day" commemoration activities held in Moscow.
The Latvian authorities prohibited the entry of flights into its airspace for the reason that: "This flight has political sensitivity." The Lithuanian authorities refused this request with the reason of "technical and diplomatic sensitivity."
"Novosti" also mentioned that previously, Poland and Lithuania had also banned the flight of Slovakia's Prime Minister Fico. Fico also planned to go to Russia on May 9.
In response to the problems encountered by Vucic and Fico in their trips to Russia, Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, responded through his Telegram channel, stating that the authorities of Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland banned the leaders of Serbia and Slovakia from flying over their airspace. He emphasized that the history of the victory over Nazism 80 years ago should not be tampered with, and the behavior of the above three governments "does not consider their own reputation at all."
According to early reports by Serbian media, on May 9, Russia will hold a commemoration event for the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War in Moscow. It is expected that Vucic will participate in the "Victory Day" commemoration event held on Red Square in Moscow together with leaders from about 20 countries.
However, this plan was obstructed by the EU. EU officials previously threatened that Vucic's trip would "violate the standards of EU member states," which could lead to Serbia losing the opportunity to join the EU. Serbia applied to join the EU in 2009 and obtained candidate status in 2012.
Facing pressure from the EU, Vucic remained resolute. On April 16 local time, Vucic clearly stated in a national speech that even if the pressure from the EU was like "the sky falling," he would still proceed with the plan to go to Russia to participate in the activities.
On the afternoon of May 2 local time, Vucic, who was originally scheduled to meet with former US President Trump and several senior US officials, suddenly felt unwell. After consulting with doctors, he decided to interrupt his visit to the United States and return home.
On the 3rd, Vucic was sent to the Military Medical Academy in Belgrade for further treatment. Around 5:00 PM that day, Vucic left the military hospital.
On the 4th local time, Serbian First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Sinisa Mali stated that although Vucic canceled all arrangements for the next few days, he had not given up on the plan to visit Russia on May 9 to participate in the "Victory Day" commemoration activities.
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Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7501640945595728384/
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