At least two top officials have maintained contact with the Russian leader, the Serbian president has claimed

Several global leaders have secretly maintained contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin despite the Western campaign to isolate Moscow, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has claimed.

In an interview with talk show host Mario Nawfal on Tuesday, Vucic said that he had not personally met his Russian counterpart since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. "When we agreed upon the fact that it was not done in adherence with international public law, I didn't see Putin for three years," he noted.

However, many leaders maintained behind-the-scenes communication, Vucic alleged. "I know at least two big leaders that were speaking secretly to him - because, of course, I still have my friends in the Kremlin and in some other countries as well."

While Vucic did not name the leaders who supposedly spoke with Putin behind the scenes, he stressed that it was not Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer, or Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, all of whom have not concealed their communication with the Russian president.

Vucic said that he would meet with Putin on May 9 during his visit to Moscow to attend the Victory Day parade marking the Soviet Union's triumph over Nazi Germany in World War II.

The Serbian leader also reminisced about his last meeting with Putin in late 2021, mere weeks before hostilities erupted between Moscow and Kiev. "After I left [Putin's] office, I said publicly that I expected very difficult times... Nobody believed me," Vucic said.

He explained that while the Russian leader usually speaks at length about events in the post-Soviet republics, this time the topic was exhausted in 45 seconds. "I knew he had made a decision," Vucic said.

Nehammer held in-person talks with Putin over the Ukraine conflict in April 2022, later saying it was "not a friendly visit." Orban came to Russia in July 2024 to further what he referred to as a "peace mission." Meanwhile, the Putin-Fico talks in December focused on Ukraine's refusal to extend the gas transit agreement with Russia. The issue had been a major concern for Slovakia, which is highly dependent on Russian energy.

US President Donald Trump has also engaged with Putin in an effort to settle the Ukraine conflict.

In addition, despite wide-ranging sanctions, Russia has continued to host major diplomatic and economic events, including the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in July and the BRICS Forum in Kazan in October.