French President Emmanuel Macron starts a two-day state visit to Serbia on Thursday with the focus on the possible sale of 12 Rafale multi-purpose fighter jets to the country, which has maintained close ties to Russia despite its invasion of Ukraine.

Macron is to meet populist President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade on Thursday evening, when the deal reportedly worth 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) is expected to be announced.