Russian foreign minister hails soccer game with Serbia’s national team and meets with counterpart

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has met with his Serbian counterpart in Moscow ahead of a soccer game between the countries’ national teams. The game Thursday was the Russian men’s squad’s first European friendly since the fighting in Ukraine began two years ago. Russia was removed from international soccer competitions after sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022, but is not blocked from games with other national teams. Since the fighting started, the Russian national team has mostly organized friendlies against teams from Asia and Africa, as well as one game against Cuba. Russia won 4-0 against Serbia in the game Thursday night at Moscow’s Dynamo Stadium.