Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban travelled from Brussels to Belgrade for a working visit, where he was received by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic on Saturday.

The topics of the meeting included the EU integration of Serbia and the Western Balkans, the continuously developing Hungary-Serbia bilateral relations, and also the possibilities of facilitating a ceasefire and peace negotiations in the Russia-Ukraine war. Alongside photos of the two politicians playing billiards, PM Orban posted on Twitter a message in English:

After Brussels a breath of fresh air in Belgrade. Hungarian-Serbian relations at an all-time high. Thank you for the game and the friendship, President Vucic!”

After Brussels a breath of fresh air in Belgrade. Hungarian-Serbian relations at an all-time high. Thank you for the game and the friendship, @avucic ! 🇭🇺🇷🇸 pic.twitter.com/hLjrulSOYV

— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) March 25, 2023

„After discussing all strategic issues of cooperation between Hungary and Serbia in three-and-a-half hour meeting, I played a friendly billiards match with PM Orban”, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said, adding that „friendships are built for a long time and with great care, and they get stronger in difficult times.” Mr Vucic added that the was proud of the friendship between Serbs and Hungarians and grateful to Viktor Orban for investing a lot of effort and energy in making this friendship indispensable and sincere, Mr Vucic added.

During the meeting, the two politicians agreed that Hungary will continue to store natural gas for Serbia in Hungarian gas storage facilities, similar to last year, and preparations are underway to double the capacity of the electricity interconnection between Hungary and Serbia, in order to make the transfer of electricity easier, faster and simpler.

The growing migratory pressure was also discussed at the meeting. The parties stated that root causes have not been addressed, but it will be a great help if Hungary can cooperate with the Western Balkan countries in dealing with the situation. Cooperation with Serbia is good, and thirty Hungarian police officers serve on Serbia’s southern border.

There is also close cooperation in trade. Last year, Hungary set a record for trade turnover with Serbia, with an unprecedented 6 billion euros.