Russian President, Vladimir Putin. Photo: EPA/Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik/KRE

A survey conducted by the Serbian newspaper Politika of the most trusted foreign politicians puts Russian president Vladimir Putin in first place by a wide mark, with the support of 58 per cent of respondents.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel came second, with 42 per cent saying they trusted her most.

“This is not surprising, since Putin has for years been the most popular foreign leader in Serbia, by any research and any methodology,” Politika said in its report.

It noted that President Putin enjoys the same level of trust in Serbia as he does in Russia.

The newspaper conducted the survey together with surveyors and pollster Faktor Plus between March 9 and 13.

In third place on the list is Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the trust of 34 per cent.

US President Donald Trump comes next with 22 per cent.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has the trust of 16 per cent in the survey, the same as France’s President, Emmanuel Macron.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to the survey, has the trust of 7 per cent of Serbian citizens.

Putin has long enjoyed strong support in Serbia, and often tops the list of the most popular as well as most trusted foreign politicians.

One consequence of that is a number of towns and cities in Serbia giving him the title of “honorary citizen”, although he has never visited any of them.

Russia and Serbia historically have warm relations based on Slavic ethnic ties and common membership of the Orthodox Church.

Most Serbs perceive Moscow as one of their biggest allies, especially in the battle to prevent international recognition of the independence of the former province of Kosovo.

Politicians from the two countries have for decades kept close and friendly relations.

Russia was among the first countries to condemn Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, and it has since voted against the membership of Kosovo in international institutions in line with Belgrade’s policies.

In turn, Serbia has refused to join Western sanctions on Russia for its perceived role in fomenting the conflict in Ukraine, despite numerous calls from the Brussels stating that Serbia – as an EU candidate country – needs to align its foreign policy with that of the union.

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