Lavrov and Kerry "to meet over dinner in Belgrade"

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet this evening in the building of the old General Staff in Belgrade.
Source: Vecernje novosti, Tanjug Wednesday, December 2, 2015 | 11:57

(Beta/AP, file)

This has been reported by Vecernje Novosti daily. The report added that Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic would host a dinner in the War Hall of the edifice that will bring together foreign ministers of the OSCE member-states "in an informal atmosphere."
This will take place before tomorrow's official opening of the OSCE Ministerial Council conference in Belgrade, where "the most current European and global political and security issues will be discussed."

Kerry and Lavrov will arrive here late on Wednesday along with their large delegations - Kerry will be accompanied by around 260 people, while the Russian team will include almost 100.

Before the dinner at the General Staff building, the Serbian prime minister and Kerry will meet in Belgrade's Bokeljka villa for a private conversation.

The two-day Ministerial Council of the OSCE, currently chaired by Serbia, officially starts on Thursday morning with a plenary session that will be opened by Vucic and Dacic, in the presence of more than 40 foreign ministers. The arrival of nearly 1,500 officials from the 57 OSCE member states and 11 partner countries is expected.

The OSCE conference ends on Friday when member-states' joint conclusions will be presented, the newspaper reported.

"Serious player"

Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic has said that over the past year Serbia has demonstrated that it is a serious player capable of chairing a big and complex organization such as the OSCE, at the moment when it is facing the acute issues such as the Ukraine situation, migrant crisis and terrorism.

“This is also illustrated by the fact that the Belgrade meeting will welcome foreign ministers from 44 OSCE participating countries,” Dacic told RTS on Tuesday evening.

However, he could not confirm that a meeting between the foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey would take place.

In relation to the Russian ambassador's expectation of the OSCE to condemn the recent downing of a Russian fighter jet as Turkey's aggression, Dacic said that the issue would certainly be discussed, among other topics, but noted that any decision required a consensus.

Speaking late on Tuesday in Belgrade, OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier said Serbia was "a strong and constructive leader" during its chairmanship.