Davos, Switzerland | Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm has held his first official talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic since a parliamentary election last month, as the mining giant seeks to revive the stalled $3.7 billion Jadar lithium project.

The pair met at the World Economic Forum in Davos for talks that Mr Stausholm described as “robust” and Mr Vucic as “difficult” – suggesting there might still be a long road ahead if Rio Tinto is to reverse Belgrade’s revocation of its Jadar mining licences two years ago.