Belgrade

BELGRADE - Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic stated on Thursday in the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Serbia views Russia as a true and great friend, adding that Russia's support is precious in preservation of the territorial sovereignty and integrity, particularly in terms of Kosovo-Metohija.

BRUSSELS - Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's visit to Serbia would be welcome despite the recent incidents during a soccer match in Belgrade, Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson of the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, said in Brussels on Thursday.

PM: Serbia expects apology from Albania

Serbia will remain a true pillar of stability in the Western Balkans, and nothing can compromise this, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić has told CNN.

PARIS - UEFA President Michel Platini said that the situation concerning the European qualifier between Serbia and Albania is not innocuous at all, and posed a question as to what would have happened if the drone flying over the Partizan stadium in Belgrade had carried a bomb instead of a flag.

BELGRADE - A meeting of the European Network of Equality Bodies (EQUINET), which is an organisation of 41 institutions from 30 countries in Europe, started in Belgrade on Thursday.

Commissioner for Protection of Equality Nevena Petrusic said Serbia had done a lot, but that more work was needed to turn it into a democratic, open and tolerant society.

BELGRADE - Serbian women's volleyball team will play at the FIVB World Cup for the third time in its history, the national volleyball federation released on Thursday.

At least six pupils were injured after a mass brawl erupted on Wednesday between the Albanian and Montenegrin pupils at an ethnically-mixed high school in Tuzi, a suburb of the Montenegrin capital.

The violence, which involved several dozen pupils, broke out after a few Albanian pupils came to school dressed in red T-shirts with Albanian symbols.

Vladimir Putin arrives in Belgrade

BELGRADE -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Serbia. His Serbian counterpart Tomislav Nikolić welcomed him at Belgrade's Nikola Tesla International airport.

BELGRADE - Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic and Russian President Vladimir Putin paid homage to soldiers fallen for the liberation of Belgrade in World War II on Thursday.

They laid wreaths at the Cemetery of the Liberators of Belgrade and the Monument to the Red Army in Belgrade following the playing of Serbia's and Russia's national anthems and signed the cemetery's guest book.

BELGRADE - The chairman of the Serbian parliamentary committee on Kosovo-Metohija Milovan Drecun said on Thursday that the purpose of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's visit to Belgrade, slated for October 22, has been called into question.