The Kremlin stated on Monday that three eastern European countries’ airspace closures, which stopped Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov from visiting Serbia, were a “hostile measure.”

Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Montenegro, which border Serbia, barred their airspace to an official jet carrying Moscow’s senior diplomat to Belgrade on Monday.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters such actions could cause problems with the timetabling of high-level diplomatic meetings. But they would not prevent Moscow from maintaining contacts with friendly countries, he said.