Vedomosti: Vučić told Putin he is resigning. TASS: Vučić congratulated Putin on the Duma vote
Two Russian outlets covered one phone call between Vladimir Putin and Serbia's president. Moscow's business daily Vedomosti led with Aleksandar Vučić resigning. TASS, the Russian state news agency, filed three reports: one on praise for the Duma elections, one on Ukraine and the Balkans, one on a friendly atmosphere. The only mention of Serbian politics in TASS's text is an early parliamentary election. We hold no Serbian account of the call.
Two leads, one call. Vladimir Putin and Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vučić, spoke by phone on 26 September. Russia's state news agency TASS and the Moscow business daily Vedomosti both reported it. Their reports do not lead with the same news.
| TASS (3 reports) | Vedomosti (1 report) | |
|---|---|---|
| The news | Vučić "congratulates Putin on successful elections to State Duma"; the two "discuss Ukrainian conflict, situation in Balkans" | Vučić "told Putin of his resignation as president of Serbia" |
| Serbia's politics | "preparations for an early parliamentary election" | his resignation |
| Source named | the Kremlin | none in what we hold |
| Published (UTC) | 13:29 to 13:35 | 11:32 |
Sourcing. All three TASS reports rest on the Kremlin's readout. It is the source for the "warm and friendly atmosphere" and for Vučić's thanks for Russian help "to fight forest fires". The TASS headline calls the Duma elections "successful" and does not say who called them that.
Serbia's voice. None of the four reports quotes Belgrade. We hold no Serbian account of the call.
What is not settled - Whether Vučić said he is resigning. Only Vedomosti's headline says so, and we hold no text beneath it. - Why TASS does not mention a resignation. TASS may have dropped it, or the Kremlin readout may not have carried it. We hold neither the full readout nor Vedomosti's full report. - What was said about Ukraine. The TASS headline says it was discussed. None of the reports we hold says what was said.
What this is about. Serbia's president spoke by phone with Russia's president. The two Russian outlets we hold disagree on what the news from that call was: praise and the war in Ukraine, or Serbia's head of state stepping down.
How it got here. Serbia and Russia have long been close. Russia has backed Serbia's refusal to recognise Kosovo, which declared independence from Serbia in 2008. That backing includes Russia's veto on the UN Security Council. Serbia has been a candidate to join the European Union since 2012. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Serbia condemned the invasion at the UN but did not join EU sanctions on Russia. That has left Belgrade between Brussels and Moscow. Serbia also relies heavily on Russian gas, and its main oil company is majority-owned by Russia's Gazprom Neft.
At home, Vučić has led Serbian politics for more than a decade: he was prime minister from 2014 and has been president since 2017. His Serbian Progressive Party has governed throughout. A railway station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad in November 2024, killing people waiting below it. Mass protests followed, led largely by students, and they turned into demands for accountability and early elections.
The actors. Putin wants to show that Russia keeps friends in Europe despite the war. Vučić has spent years balancing EU membership talks against ties to Moscow. Russia has just held elections to the State Duma, its lower house of parliament.
What is at stake. Under Serbia's constitution, if a president resigns, the speaker of parliament acts as head of state until a new president is elected. A change at the top in Belgrade would matter to Moscow, to Brussels and to Kosovo.
Where it stands. One report we hold says Vučić told Putin he is resigning. Three say he talked about preparing an early parliamentary election. Neither is confirmed by a Serbian source in what we hold.
What is being argued about
- Whether Vučić told Putin he is resigning as Serbia's president, which only Vedomosti's headline says
- Why the three TASS reports mention an early parliamentary election in Serbia but no resignation
- Every detail of the call comes from Moscow: TASS cites the Kremlin, and no report we hold quotes Belgrade
- The TASS headline calls Russia's Duma elections 'successful' and does not say who called them that
Claims and verdicts
Вучич сообщил Путину о своей отставке с поста президента Сербии
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Read it at Vedomosti →
What we have measured
Actor named names Russia as the state actor, not the company, and frames it neutrally ×1Asserted vs attributed the headline attributes the attacks to Novak ×1Asserted vs attributed Attributes the attack count to Novak in the headline. ×1Attribution figure stated flat with no source named, and tied to 2027 ×1
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T
TASS
Vucic congratulates Putin on successful elections to State Duma
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Read it at TASS →
What we have measured
Accusation carried by a verb of fact 'Noted' presents a Russian diplomat's accusation of terror as an observation. Kyiv gives no response anywhere in the text. ×1Accusation carried unhedged a charge of terror against civilians is introduced with 'noted', which treats it as fact, and nobody answers it ×1Actor named Ukrainian forces are named as acting, in the report's own voice ×1Actor named Names 'the Western community' as the actor, in Putin's words ×1
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Vucic congratulates Putin on successful elections to State Duma
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Read it at TASS →
What we have measured
Accusation carried by a verb of fact 'Noted' presents a Russian diplomat's accusation of terror as an observation. Kyiv gives no response anywhere in the text. ×1Accusation carried unhedged a charge of terror against civilians is introduced with 'noted', which treats it as fact, and nobody answers it ×1Actor named Ukrainian forces are named as acting, in the report's own voice ×1Actor named Names 'the Western community' as the actor, in Putin's words ×1
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Putin, Vucic discuss Ukrainian conflict, situation in Balkans
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Read it at TASS →
What we have measured
Accusation carried by a verb of fact 'Noted' presents a Russian diplomat's accusation of terror as an observation. Kyiv gives no response anywhere in the text. ×1Accusation carried unhedged a charge of terror against civilians is introduced with 'noted', which treats it as fact, and nobody answers it ×1Actor named Ukrainian forces are named as acting, in the report's own voice ×1Actor named Names 'the Western community' as the actor, in Putin's words ×1
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Who wrote it
Coverage, outlet by outlet
Vucic congratulates Putin on successful elections to State Duma
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Read it at TASS →
What we have measured
Accusation carried by a verb of fact 'Noted' presents a Russian diplomat's accusation of terror as an observation. Kyiv gives no response anywhere in the text. ×1Accusation carried unhedged a charge of terror against civilians is introduced with 'noted', which treats it as fact, and nobody answers it ×1Actor named Ukrainian forces are named as acting, in the report's own voice ×1Actor named Names 'the Western community' as the actor, in Putin's words ×1
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— state-controlled
Putin, Vucic discuss Ukrainian conflict, situation in Balkans
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Read it at TASS →
What we have measured
Accusation carried by a verb of fact 'Noted' presents a Russian diplomat's accusation of terror as an observation. Kyiv gives no response anywhere in the text. ×1Accusation carried unhedged a charge of terror against civilians is introduced with 'noted', which treats it as fact, and nobody answers it ×1Actor named Ukrainian forces are named as acting, in the report's own voice ×1Actor named Names 'the Western community' as the actor, in Putin's words ×1
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— state-controlled
Putin speaks by phone with Vucic
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Read it at TASS →
What we have measured
Accusation carried by a verb of fact 'Noted' presents a Russian diplomat's accusation of terror as an observation. Kyiv gives no response anywhere in the text. ×1Accusation carried unhedged a charge of terror against civilians is introduced with 'noted', which treats it as fact, and nobody answers it ×1Actor named Ukrainian forces are named as acting, in the report's own voice ×1Actor named Names 'the Western community' as the actor, in Putin's words ×1
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— state-controlled
Вучич сообщил Путину о своей отставке с поста президента Сербии
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Read it at Vedomosti →
What we have measured
Actor named names Russia as the state actor, not the company, and frames it neutrally ×1Asserted vs attributed the headline attributes the attacks to Novak ×1Asserted vs attributed Attributes the attack count to Novak in the headline. ×1Attribution figure stated flat with no source named, and tied to 2027 ×1
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