Serbia and Ukraine pledge closer economic ties, target free trade deal by year-end

Serbia and Ukraine have agreed to deepen economic cooperation and aim to finalise a long-stalled free trade agreement by the end of the year. The commitment was announced in Belgrade after Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the final day of a two-day visit. It was Zelenskyy's first visit to Serbia since taking office in 2019.

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At a joint news conference, Vucic said Serbia would support Ukraine's bid to join the European Union and continue backing Ukraine's territorial integrity, including areas seized by Russia since 2014. He also said Serbia would help rebuild Ukrainian cities and provide aid, adding that cooperation between the two countries would become much larger. The two leaders said they had also discussed joint infrastructure projects, energy cooperation and food security ahead of winter.

The proposed free trade agreement has been under discussion for more than two decades. According to the statements made in Belgrade, both sides now want to complete it by the end of the year. The deal matters for Serbia because it is linked to its bid to join the World Trade Organization and is a prerequisite for European Union membership.

Ukraine has blocked the agreement since 2005 over quotas and tariffs affecting its agricultural sector. The talks come at a sensitive moment in wider regional diplomacy. Serbia has maintained its support for Ukraine's territorial integrity but has refused to impose sanctions on Russia, which remains a longstanding ally of Belgrade.

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Ukraine, meanwhile, has not recognised Kosovo's declaration of independence in 2008, and Serbia continues to regard Kosovo as part of its territory. Those unresolved positions have long shaped the limits of the bilateral relationship even as both governments now signal a willingness to expand practical cooperation. Zelenskyy said the discussions also covered energy and food security, as well as the damage caused by Russia's invasion.

He said that almost no thermal power plant in Ukraine remained intact and that Russian attacks had also damaged railway stations, hospitals, universities and civilian businesses. Serbia's pledge to support reconstruction and provide humanitarian assistance suggests a broader effort to turn political contact into concrete economic and recovery measures. What remains unclear is how quickly the free trade talks can overcome the outstanding disputes over agricultural quotas and tariffs.

It is also not yet clear how Serbia's support for Ukraine's EU path will sit alongside its refusal to join sanctions against Russia. The next key test will be whether the two sides can turn the Belgrade commitments into a signed agreement before the end of the year.

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