Russian FM's Serbia visit cancelled due to flight ban

Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's scheduled trip to Serbia this week has been cancelled due to a flight ban imposed by three of Belgrade's neighbouring nations in the wake of Moscow's continued invasion of Kiev, the media reported on Monday.

The trip was to take place on Monday and Tuesday.

The flight ban has been imposed by Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro, the BBC reported.

In a statement to the media late Sunday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that the three countries have closed their airspace to Lavrov's aircraft, reports TASS News Agency.

"The countries bordering Serbia have closed the only air route to the aircraft of Sergey Lavrov who was to depart for Serbia. The Russian delegation was scheduled to hold talks in Belgrade, while the EU and NATO member-countries have closed their airspace," she was quoted as saying.

Despite the raging war, Serbia has not imposed any sanctions on Russia yet.

Serbia also heavily relies on Russian gas, the BBC report said.