Ukrainian deputy PM meets Serbia's Vucic in rare high-level visit
Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka and Aleksandar Vučić also discussed the importance of concluding negotiations on a free trade agreement between Ukraine and Serbia (Photo: x.com/taraskachka)
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Taras Kachka met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on May 21 to discuss EU enlargement, bilateral trade and a free trade agreement, Kachka announced on X.
"We exchanged views on the future EU enlargement policy and the importance of maintaining momentum in the accession process," Kachka wrote.
“I stressed that political signals from EU member states matter greatly for candidate countries. Ukraine supports initiatives that can accelerate integration and help move the accession forward.”
The deputy prime minister said that Ukraine's priority remains unchanged — opening all negotiating clusters and continuing progress toward EU membership.
Kachka and Vucic also discussed the importance of finalizing a free trade agreement between the two countries.
"Appreciate Serbia’s openness to further intensifying bilateral dialogue," Kachka said.
President Vucic, for his part, described the meeting on Instagram as "open and substantive," saying the two sides discussed bilateral relations, trade, energy and infrastructure projects.
The Insider noted that Kachka's visit was only the second official visit by a Ukrainian official of his rank to Serbia since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion — a notable signal of warming ties between Kyiv and Belgrade. Serbia has condemned Russia's invasion but has not joined European Union sanctions against Moscow.
The visit comes after reports that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would not travel to Serbia this week. Presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said on May 20 that a Zelenskyy visit would take place on different dates.
"We decided it would be better on different dates, and for now Kachka will go to prepare certain issues," Lytvyn was quoted as saying by news agency Interfax-Ukraine.
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