Milos Vucevic from election to mandate - what he said about the future government, Kosovo and military service

Milos Vucevic, the representative for the composition of the new Government of Serbia, has announced in statements to RTS that the new government will be a government of continuity, but with new energy and new faces in the cabinet. At the beginning of the year, he announced that he would not give up on the initiative to reintroduce mandatory military service. When it comes to Kosovo, he has pointed out that Pristina's actions are sending the message to the Serbs in Kosovo that they are not welcome in the areas where they have lived for centuries, while he has said that Serbia has an adequate response to the latest recommendation of the Council of Europe.

The president of the Serbian Progressive Party, Milos Vucevic, who has been proposed as the representative for the composition of the new Government of Serbia, announced that the backbone of the work program of the future Government of Serbia will be what is presented through the project "Leap into the future - Serbia 2027".

In the political sense, he said that the new government will be a government of continuity and that he believes that in the coming days, clear contours of the future government will be seen.

"We were not late, that's why there are legal deadlines of 90 days for the formation of the government. It is neither a precedent, nor is it something unusual in political life, not in Serbia, but in Europe and the whole world. So, we are not late anywhere, the government performs its regular tasks", Vucevic said.

He added that the new government must bring new energy, new faces, strength, and new optimism, as well as the will to fight together with the president, with the National Assembly, for Serbia, for all its citizens.

"And, above all, that those who will be part of the cabinet in 11 Nemanjina Street should be aware of their responsibility. I see myself as part of the team, whatever position I am in, the reserve bench or the stands. I believe in this politics because it is the only politics that protects Serbia," said Vucevic at the time.

About Kosovo, the region, Russia and the pressure on Serbia

On February 1, the new president, speaking about the situation in Kosovo, assessed that the reality is that new court proceedings are being initiated against the Serbs in Kosovo for alleged war crimes and that in this way the message is being sent to the entire Serbian community that they are not welcome or cannot stay and survive in the areas where they have lived for centuries.

"Secondly, it is certain that political pressures continue, overall political pressures on the Republic of Serbia regarding the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, but not only the issue of Kosovo and Metohija, I think that there is of course the issue of relations with the Russian Federation today, we also have the issue of attempts to unitize Bosnia and Herzegovina , the issue of relations in the region. Not an easy period, above all, I would say, in the next six months, and Kosovo and Metohija will be the dominant topic," Vucevic pointed out.

He said that Belgrade should continue to be maximally constructive, protecting state and national interests, but also to have clearly defined red lines. However, Vucevic then assessed that Belgrade's room for maneuver was "the size of a coin".

"Only those who are very skilled in geopolitics, politics, strategy and even tactics can maintain or save the ball in such a small or narrowed, narrow space for maneuver. This is simply a consequence of the things that have happened since the Berlin Congress until today. Who does not want that to see as a single series of events or sequence of facts that lead us or lead to this situation, he does not understand the issue of Kosovo and Metohija," said Vucevic.

At the time, he also assessed that the Albanians were making a historical mistake by using their indisputable dominant demographic position in Kosovo.

"They make big mistakes against the Serbs, and that never pays off historically. We Serbs have made mistakes in certain historical periods, both towards the Albanians and towards ourselves. I am afraid that the Albanians have not learned any lessons from all that and are doing even worse things than which anyone can assume, and in the further development of events, I don't think that it can return to good," Vucevic assessed.

About the Council of Europe: Serbia has adequate answers to all possible situations

Speaking about Dora Bakoyannis’s recent recommendation that Pristina become a full member of the Council of Europe, Vucevic told RTS on March 27 that this is the first time that a territory that is not a state in the full sense gets the opportunity and the status of a favored subject in international public law in the process of joining the Council of Europe.

"We saw a festival of hypocrisy and hypocrisy in international public law, that everything that applies to everyone, does not apply only to the Albanians from so-called Kosovo, that everything they guaranteed to Serbia does not exist and there are no sanctions against Pristina," Vucevic said.

He pointed out that Serbia has adequate answers to all possible situations, including what will happen in the Council of Europe, as well as that it does not show all the cards in advance.

"We should look at the political and diplomatic level to do everything we can, and of course the state of Serbia has adequate answers to all possible situations, even in relation to what will happen in the Council of Europe, so that we don't run ahead, that we don't let's be heroic, let's see what the state and national interests of Serbia are and how to protect them in these almost impossible conditions," said Vucevic.

On the introduction of mandatory military service

Since 2022, Vucevic held the position of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. The beginning of the year was marked by the initiative of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces to re-introduce the obligation to serve in the military. Vucevic said that neither the Ministry of Defense nor the General Staff will give up on that initiative.

"Our proposal is a maximum of four months and we will, of course, if the state accepts it, ask for a time frame so that we can prepare the barracks and recruitment centers for the conditions for accepting the young army, new recruits in accordance with the modern circumstances of life. We do not want let's go back to the 70s, 80s or 90s, so that these guys, future soldiers, the pride of Serbia, have the best possible conditions for life in the barracks," emphasized Vucevic.

As he said, after 13 years since the suspension of military service, after the analysis, arguments were presented as to why military service should be returned.

"Reinstating military service is not related to the events in Kosovo and Metohija. We have the erosion of the defense system of the Republic of Serbia, we lose 60,000 people annually who leave the army reserve due to age and we only have 1,500 new members. The question is which country can withstand that", stated Vucevic.