Brnabic: In 2023, Kosovo will be a huge challenge because there is a lot of pressure to reach a final agreement

Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said that there would be many challenges in 2023 and that Kosovo would be a huge challenge because there was a lot of pressure to reach a final agreement, writes Alo.

It seems that the question of all questions throughout the year was whether and how we will save the people of Kosovo?

President Vucic was completely clear, he said that this was a red line and that we would preserve peace at all costs. Those are the two important messages, the first is that we will do everything to preserve the peace and not fall for provocations. We kept our composure only thanks to the president, no one would have been so patient and had so much political wisdom to do what he did. I can start from myself as Prime Minister, I believe that I would fall for some provocations. Aleksandar Vucic is so smart and politically wise that he doesn't answer them and show that Serbs are victims and to what extent Kurti is an extremist who ignores and erases the human rights of Serbs in Kosovo like an eraser and terrorizes them. It is good that we have such a president at this moment; otherwise we would have conflicts.

You were in Kosovo, how did you feel?

When I was in Kosovo, I said it from the heart, I felt like I belonged there. I was infinitely grateful to our people when I personally saw how much they protect Serbia in Kosovo and Metohija, how dedicated they are to Serbia and to peace and stability. And at the last gathering, they said that and they delighted me: We don't have any problems with Albanians. We only have a problem with Kurti, who denies our human rights.

In August, you were elected Prime Minister for the third time, what is it that sets you apart from all the others, so Vucic nominated you again?

I don't know, that's a question for the president. It is my greatest honor to serve my country. It is really a great honor to be the Prime Minister in the third term, but again in difficult times. Not a single year was easy for me, but somehow it happened that not a single year since Vucic became Prime Minister has been easy. He had to save the country from bankruptcy, we were a few months away from that, to employ people, unemployment was 25.9 percent, among young people over 51 percent, wages were the lowest in the region, without any investments. And this year, which was very challenging, we will have over four billion Euros of investments. Then there were historic floods, then the migrant crisis started, then we had the years of the coronavirus, then the war in Eastern Europe. But we managed to make Serbia grow every year and in 2020, when the world economy declined, even in a double-digit percentage, we kept the same level as in 2019. The decline was 0.9 percent. Here, and summarizing 2022, I want to tell our people that according to World Bank analyses, Serbia was only one of 10 countries in the world that increased the number of employees during the corona pandemic. All other countries in the world had a jump in unemployment. In difficult circumstances, we found the strength and knowledge to deal with it.

You have been in the position of prime minister for five and a half years, how much has that changed you?

A lot.

In what sense?

When I obtained my first mandate to form the Government and when, thanks to the majority in the parliament, where the backbone of the SNS, a party of which I am a proud member, gave me confidence, Vucic gave me one of his many good pieces of advice: "In this cabinet that you inherit from me no one comes with good news, people come here with problems that no one has been able to solve, so they had to go to the Prime Minister." So that's five and a half years of daily problem solving. I'm really happy to work side by side with Aleksandar Vucic. He took a large part of those problems upon himself, above all when it comes to Kosovo and Metohija and bringing in investments, and with that he gave not only to me but also all the people in the government space to deal with other matters important for the quality of life of citizens.

How was this year for you personally? Did you cry or laugh more often?

I didn't have a private life or time for my family, and in that sense it was a very difficult year because it's impossible not to take part of that heavy burden home with you. In this year, there was also a tough fight against organized crime in the Republic of Serbia.

Did you fear for your safety then?

No, I was afraid at every moment and today I am afraid for the safety of President Aleksandar Vucic. I wish I could take on that burden a little more in a different way. But I honestly think and believe that our citizens also know this, that anyone who wants to harm Serbia and weaken it is number one on the list of enemies, Aleksandar Vucic. When he declared war on the mob, he put his head in a bag. During 2022, we received reports of serious threats to his life, from Europol, our European partners, but also from others. And throughout the year it was an additional stress. When you look at what we've been up against, it's been a really tough year. And all this must affect our personal mood, health...

What will you wish for at midnight on the 31st?

Peace. I would like us to have peace that is never questioned, that is my greatest wish. We can do everything else ourselves, we have shown that. That we can do a lot, that we are dedicated to the country, the people, that we have good ideas and that we can implement them in difficult times. But peace does not depend only on us, peace takes two.

And what would you wish our readers and citizens?

Lots of health, happiness, success and faith in our country and in ourselves, because the country is only as strong as we all are together as individuals and as strong as we believe in ourselves. In this sense, we have reached a level of development where the faith of each of us in our abilities is really important every day in this competition with other countries in Europe and the world. So I want us to believe in ourselves and for everyone to know that there is a future and prosperity in this country.

Do you have plans for the holidays, do you know where you will be?

I hope I will have some time to rest, but again it depends on the situation in Kosovo. At this moment, Albin Kurti led us not to live from day to day, but from hour to hour. Also that both at three in the afternoon and at three in the morning we take care of whether the Serbs in Kosovo are safe and secure. How peaceful the holidays will be depends on this.