Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (R) shakes hands with his Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades during their meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, on May 10, 2018. Anastasiades arrived in Belgrade for a state visit. (Xinhua/Predrag Milosavljevic)

BELGRADE, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Presidents of Serbia and Cyprus, who met here on Thursday, agreed to strengthen cooperation and joint projects in a bid to deepen their countries' ties.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, who arrived in Belgrade Wednesday evening, met his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic at the Palace of Serbia.

The two leaders discussed the situation in the region and Cyprus, Serbia's European integration process, and future cooperation.

At a press conference after the meeting, Vucic praised Cyprus as one of the strongest protectors of international law among the European Union (EU) member states, and thanked his counterpart for the support related to Serbia's southern province of Kosovo and Metohija that unilaterally declared independence in 2008.

Anastasiades stressed that Cyprus does not recognize the unilateral declaration of the independence of Kosovo and sees it as an illegal act, as it contradicts resolution 1244 of the UN Security Council.

According to Vucic, the cooperation between the two countries will include tourism and infrastructural projects in Serbia, where companies from Cyprus have expressed their interest to participate.?