Medvedev is expected to discuss terms for the 1 billion euro ($1.5 billion) loan with his Serbian counterpart Boris Tadic in talks which are also focusing on energy and regional security.
Russian Ambassador to Belgrade Alexander Konuzin said Serbia’s loan request, made in July, had been approved. It was up to Medvedev and Tadic to work out the details of “how best to use the resources which Russia put at Serbia’s disposal,” he told B92 television.
Belgrade wants to use 350 million euros of the loan to help cover part of its 2010 budget gap, which it needs to keep within 3.5 percent of GDP to meet requirements under a 3 billion euro loan deal with the International Monetary Fund.
Serbia has been hard hit by the global financial crisis and the loan deal is expected to be signed on the sidelines of Medvedev’s one-day visit, which aims to display the special relations with Russia’s Slav ally.
Tadic welcomed Medvedev at a ceremony against a backdrop of the two national flags -- similar white-blue-red tricolors -- before they went into the Palace Serbia, a drab communist-era government compound, to hold their talks. Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic described Medvedev’s visit as “a historical day.”
