Ivica Dacic and Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko (BETAPHOTO/MUP SRBIJE)
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic and Russian Ambassador to Serbia Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko visited in Nis on Aug. 25 the crew of a Russian plane that is helping firefighters extinguish a fire in Delibatska Pescara on the Stolovi mountain near Kraljevo and Lukovo near Vranje.
The minister thanked the Russian Federation and Russian president for responding and dispatching the specialized Ilyushin IL-76 capable of carrying 42 tons and stressed that the special Russian team has conducted 22 flights and dropped 924 tons of water in regions threatened by fire across Serbia.
He said that Serbia contacted Russia for assistance in fighting the catastrophic fires and that it promptly replied.
"Through diplomatic channels we asked some countries to allow the plane to fly through their airspace, given the sanctions against the Russian Federation, while also accounting for the fact that this is about fighting fires" Dacic said and thanked everyone who offered and provided assistance.
Ambassador Botsan-Kharchenko stressed that there was no hesitation on the Russian side in assisting Serbia and the Serb people.
He said that "Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin immediately ordered that Serbia's request be met and realization and the plane's arrival were promptly launched on his orders."
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