Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic discussed cooperation between their nations when they spoke by phone Thursday.
"I spoke with the president of Serbia, thanked Mr. Vucic for supporting our state, our people," Zelenskyy said in a Thursday night video address, according to Interfax-Ukraine. "We discussed our interaction — bilateral and also with other partners."
Zelenskyy also said he greatly appreciates "maximum constructive relations for Ukraine and joint security with partners."
In a post on Instagram translated to English, Vucic wrote that he had a "meaningful and good conversation with the President of Ukraine on all important issues of bilateral cooperation."
He added that Serbia recently reopened its embassy in Kyiv and said he is hoping that it will lead to a better relationship.
"We discussed the European path of our countries, as well as the possibility of more frequent bilateral visits in the future," Vucic said.
RBC-Ukraine reported Thursday that Vucic extended New Year's greetings to the Ukrainian people and expressed hope that the war with Russia — nearing its third anniversary — would soon end.
"Earlier this week, I accepted credentials from the new Ambassador of Serbia," Zelenskyy said during the call, according to RBC-Ukraine. "I believe that the resumption of the full-fledged work of the diplomatic mission headed by the Ambassador will contribute to the development of our cooperation."
The relationship between Ukraine and Serbia is not easy, according to Ukrainska Pravda, given Belgrade's strong sense of loyalty to Russia and desire to maintain a business-as-usual relationship with Moscow despite its invasion of Ukraine.