Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was forced to cancel a trip to Serbia on Monday after neighboring countries said they would close their airspace.
“The countries around Serbia have closed the channel of communication by refusing to authorize the overflight of the plane of Sergey Lavrov who was headed to Serbia,” Russian news agencies quoted ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying.
Interfax quoted a Russian diplomatic source as saying: “Russian diplomacy has not yet learned how to teleport.”
Mr. Lavrov was scheduled to meet with his counterpart, Nikola Selakovic, and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.
Serbia has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine but has not joined the rest of Europe in imposing sanctions and continues to rely on Russian gas supplies.
Belgrade and Moscow have close ties, generally.
Mr. Lavrov said he would invite Mr. Selakovic to visit him in Moscow.
