Plane carrying Serbian politicians to Moscow turned back over Lithuania
An Air Serbia flight carrying three Serbian politicians to Moscow on the evening of 3 November was turned back to Belgrade on the order of the airport's security service. After checks, it flew on and landed in the Russian capital on the morning of 4 November.
An Air Serbia plane flying from Belgrade to Moscow on the evening of 3 November was turned around over Lithuania and returned to the Serbian capital. The decision came from the security service of Belgrade airport. After checks, the flight set off for Russia again and landed in Moscow on the morning of 4 November.
According to the news portal Nova.rs, the reason concerned one of the passengers, former Serbian deputy prime minister Aleksandar Vulin. He reportedly boarded the aircraft without the mandatory security check, with the help of an unidentified person.
Who was on board
Vulin supports closer ties with Russia and is under US sanctions over alleged support for arms and drug trafficking. Media reports say he has been awarded the Order of Friendship and a Rostec medal in Russia.
Also aboard were Dušan Bajatović, head of the Serbian gas company Srbijagas, and Nenad Popović, leader of the pro-Russian Serbian People's Party.
Purpose of the trip
The purpose of the joint trip remains unclear. Vulin said he was flying to discuss extending a gas agreement with Russia. Bajatović told Nova.rs that he planned to agree additional gas deliveries for the winter and settle payment issues.
Political background
In Serbia's early parliamentary election on 25 October, Aleksandar Vučić's party lost power after 14 years to the Student List, a party that grew out of mass anti-corruption protests. Vučić himself conceded defeat before the vote count had finished.
