MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Belgrade expects talks on specific issues of Serbia joining the European Union to start before the end of this year, the Serbian ambassador to Russia said Monday.
"We are awaiting the start of talks on certain issues. Serbia expects that these talks will start by the end of the year. It would be a very good, a very welcome signal in the policies Serbia is conducting towards the European Union," Slavenko Terzic told reporters.
Serbia submitted a bid to join the European Union in 2009, and received EU candidate status in 2012. Formal negotiations on Serbia's accession started in January 2014.
In March, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said that the bloc was ready to launch the first negotiation chapters on Serbia's accession to the bloc this year.
