The visiting British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said on Thursday that although it was leaving the European Union, Great Britain would remain a friend of Serbia and would keep supporting Belgrade on its journey towards the EU.

Addressing the press before a formal dinner with Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Johnson said that the exit of his country from the European bloc did not mean that Britain was leaving Europe, and underscored that Britain remained committed to friendly relations with countries in Europe, including Serbia.

Johnson arrived in Belgrade after his visit to Kosovo.

Earlier in the day, members of the Serbian parliament from the Serb Radical Party (SRS) and activists of the ultra-right "Dveri" organisation prevented the Serbian parliament's EU integration committee from holding a meeting at which EU representative Michael Davenport should have presented the latest Progress Report on Serbia compiled by the European Commission.

The protesters led by SRS leader Vojisla Seselj demanded that they should be provided with the report in the Serbian language and insisted that it was inappropriate for Michael Davenport, a Briton, to convince the Serbs to join the EU after his country decided at the recent referendum to leave the bloc.