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"Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic dismissed reports that Moscow faces military defeat following a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks, calling such claims exaggerated. Footage from Monday shows the president arriving at the Congress Centre in Baku to attend the World Urban Forum. He was then received and welcomed by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. Later on, leaders of the participating countries took group photos. “It is an exaggeration to say that Moscow is burning right now. Moscow is too big for you to say that just because of thirty drone hits, Moscow is literally burning, but is it a rather unpleasant situation? It certainly is,” he said on the sidelines of the World Urban Forum on Monday. Russia’s defence ministry reportedly said on Sunday that nearly 600 Ukrainian drones targeted 14 Russian regions, as well as locations in Crimea and around the Black and Azov seas, with air defences intercepting hundreds of the drones overnight. Vucic urged a negotiated settlement between Moscow and Kiev, describing peace as ‘the best solution’ and warning against assumptions that Russia could easily be defeated militarily. “Those who are already rejoicing at Russia's defeat are wrong because it is not easy to defeat Russia for many reasons,” he said, noting that Russia has refrained from deploying weapons systems such as the Bulava missile, Iskander systems or nuclear weapons. The Serbian president also called on Donald Trump to intensify efforts to broker peace between Russia and Ukraine, saying an agreement would benefit both nations and reduce wider global instability. He also voiced concern over escalating tensions involving Iran and the potential consequences for Europe’s energy security, saying he hopes the situation will not deteriorate further. Vucic pointed to Europe’s growing reliance on energy imports from countries such as Algeria, Azerbaijan and Libya, warning that additional instability in the Middle East could deepen existing economic and energy pressures across the continent. “I am very worried about what could happen around Iran,” he said. “I hope that this latest Iranian proposal might be accepted by the Americans, or I am hoping for some miracle.” The forum, organised by UN-Habitat in partnership with the Azerbaijani government, officially opened in Baku following a series of ceremonial events that included the gathering’s first-ever World Leaders Summit."
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