Serbia refused Russian military base in its territory - media

Serbia has refused to accept a military base of the Russian Federation in its territory, the newspaper Kommersant wrote, citing its own sources.

Belgrade decided to move towards expanding its cooperation with NATO, it added.

Russian Ambassador Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko made a statement last week about a possible deployment of a Russian military base in Serbia.

"The creation of a Russian military base in Serbia is a sovereign affair of this country, plus it is a matter of the interests of the Russian Federation itself," he said, stressing the importance of the country.

On the other hand, the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic said that Serbia "does not need anyone's military bases."

"Serbia will maintain military neutrality and allied relations," he said in an interview with TV Prva.

"It is not shy about ties with Russia, China, the US and the EU, but it will take care of itself."

The sources have also told the Russian website that Serbia might be in favor of expanding cooperation also with NATO.