Belgrade

BELGRADE - In December 2022, Air Serbia carried over 234,000 passengers, which is a 127 pct increase y-o-y, and 20 pct more compared to the record-breaking December of 2019.

In a statement, the national airline said it had carried over 200,000 passengers in December for the first time since it had started operating under the name of Air Serbia.

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Ivica Dacic confirmed he and Human Rights Minister Tomislav Zigmanov would attend a Christmas reception to be hosted by the Serb National Council in Zagreb on Friday.

Croatian government representatives are also expected to attend.

BELGRADE - Serbian First Deputy PM and FM Ivica Dacic and US Ambassador to Serbia Christopher Hill signed on Thursday a MoU between the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State.

At a joint press conference, Dacic said Serbia believed contacts with the US, including exchanges of bilateral visits, must be stepped up.

BELGRADE - Patriarch Porfirije and all archbishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church on Thursday urged the international community to ensure to Kosovo-Metohija Serbs the same universal freedoms that ethnic Albanians and all other people in the world have.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday evening he expected US Department of State Counsellor Derek Chollet to visit Belgrade on January 11 or 12, and noted that he believed in the creation of a better relationship with the US.

BELGRADE - The Serbian dinar's official median exchange rate against the euro is 117.3473 dinars for one euro on Thursday, which is a slight change from Wednesday, the National Bank of Serbia said.

The dinar is steady against the euro m-o-m and up by 0.2 pct y-o-y.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Wednesday tough challenges were ahead of Serbia regarding the Kosovo-Metohija issue, and noted that a further nine countries had derecognised the so-called Kosovo.

BELGRADE - At an annual press conference, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he was satisfied with Serbia's achievements in 2022 as the country had succeeded in maintaining financial stability and the national economy, achieving GDP growth of 2.3-2.5 pct despite the global crisis.

WASHINGTON - The US State Department on Wednesday said it had no announcement to make at this time about a possible visit to Serbia by special Western Balkan envoy Gabriel Escobar after Orthodox Christmas.

The State Department was responding to a Tanjug query whether Escobar would travel to Belgrade next week.

BELGRADE - Serbian FM Ivica Dacic said on Wednesday a Die Zeit article arguing that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic can only be "tamed" with a firm hand laid bare the German and Western policy towards Serbia.

The article has been published on the website of the German daily.